Carrs-Safeway

Carrs-Safeway is an Alaska-focused supermarket chain headquartered in Anchorage and operated within the Albertsons Companies grocery portfolio. The business traces its origins to February 1950, when Laurence John “Larry” Carr opened a grocery store in an Anchorage Quonset hut. Its original operating name, Carrs, reflected the involvement of Larry Carr and his brother Bernard Carr. Bernard Carr’s father, Bernard J. “Pop” Carr, later joined the enterprise, while Barney Gottstein became a significant business partner during the company’s formative period. Carrs developed alongside Alaska’s postwar population growth and expanding road network. In the 1960s, the company combined grocery retailing with wholesale distribution and real-estate development. Its construction of the Aurora Village Shopping Center and the Mall at Sears helped redirect retail activity in Anchorage away from the traditional downtown area toward Northern Lights Boulevard and other outlying commercial corridors. This store-and-shopping-center model became an important part of Carrs’ expansion strategy. By the 1970s, Carrs had stores across Southcentral Alaska and operated additional formats, including the Prairie Market warehouse stores. The company also maintained wholesale and freight activities and developed properties connected with its retail network. In smaller communities, the business used the Eagle Quality Centers name, while its wider portfolio included Oaken Keg liquor stores and other related operations. During the early 1990s, Carrs expanded into Southeast Alaska with locations in Juneau and Ketchikan and acquired the Fairbanks supermarket chain Super Valu, formerly known as Market Basket. In 1990, Larry Carr and Barney Gottstein sold the business through a leveraged buyout led by senior Carr-Gottstein executives John Cairns and Mark Williams. The transaction covered the Carrs Quality Centers supermarkets, Oaken Keg liquor stores, Eagle Quality Centers, wholesale and freight operations, and Carr-Gottstein Properties. In April 1999, Safeway acquired Carrs from its employee ownership group. Because the Carrs name had strong recognition and customer loyalty in Alaska, Safeway retained it in the combined identity Carrs-Safeway rather than replacing it outright. Today, Carrs-Safeway serves Alaskan communities through supermarkets offering conventional grocery categories, fresh food, household products, pharmacy and related retail services where available, loyalty benefits, and fuel programs at participating locations. The chain’s identity remains closely tied to Alaska, while its operating systems, private-label products, procurement, loyalty infrastructure, and corporate oversight are connected to Albertsons Companies. Carrs-Safeway has also operated The Great Alaska Tobacco Co. as a separate tobacco-retail division. A proposed divestiture connected with the planned Kroger-Albertsons merger would have transferred the Carrs name and Alaska stores to C&S Wholesale Grocers, but that transaction was abandoned after the Federal Trade Commission successfully blocked the merger in December 2024.

Carrs-Safeway began in Anchorage in February 1950, when Larry Carr opened a grocery store in a Quonset hut at the southern end of Gambell Street. The location benefited from the developing connection between Anchorage and the Seward Highway. The company name came from the Carr family partnership, initially involving Larry Carr and his brother Bernard. Their father, Bernard J. “Pop” Carr, joined after retiring from the Santa Fe Railroad and later left the business to pursue a political career. Barney Gottstein became a formal business partner of Larry Carr in 1960. Their combined company integrated grocery retailing, wholesale distribution, freight, and real-estate development. During the 1960s, Carrs helped reshape Anchorage’s commercial geography by developing the Aurora Village Shopping Center in 1966 and the Mall at Sears in 1967, both along Northern Lights Boulevard. These projects encouraged retail traffic to move away from downtown and toward emerging suburban corridors. The company continued to grow through a mixture of supermarket construction, shopping-center development, and alternative retail formats. By the middle of the 1970s, Carrs stores operated throughout Southcentral Alaska, including the Foodland Shopping Circle in Fairbanks. The company also ran Prairie Market warehouse stores during the 1970s and 1980s. Its Eagle Quality Centers subsidiary served smaller Alaska communities, while other related businesses included Oaken Keg liquor stores, wholesale food operations, freight activities, and Carr-Gottstein Properties. Carrs was initially concentrated in the Alaska Railbelt but expanded into Southeast Alaska during the early 1990s, opening stores in Juneau and Ketchikan. In 1992, the company acquired the Fairbanks supermarket chain Super Valu, which had previously operated as Market Basket. In 1990, before the Safeway transaction, Carr and Gottstein sold the business through a leveraged buyout to John Cairns, the general manager, and Mark Williams, the vice president of operations. The transaction covered the supermarket chain and several associated business units. Safeway acquired Carrs in April 1999 from an employee ownership group. The proposed acquisition prompted an antitrust lawsuit from the Alaska Public Interest Research Group. The matter was resolved through a consent decree between Safeway and the Alaska attorney general’s office that required the divestiture of seven stores. Those locations reopened under the Alaska Marketplace name, although that chain closed at the end of 2000. One former Carrs location, Foodland Shopping Circle in Fairbanks, subsequently remained largely vacant for an extended period. Safeway retained the Carrs name because of its strong customer recognition in Alaska, creating the Carrs-Safeway brand. The chain subsequently operated within Safeway’s broader retail organization and later became part of Albertsons Companies. Its customer proposition includes full-service grocery shopping, regional presence, loyalty benefits, and fuel discounts at participating locations. The fuel-rewards program was introduced in the early 2010s and later had its earning and redemption terms adjusted. Carrs-Safeway also operated The Great Alaska Tobacco Co. as a separate seven-store division from 2007. In 2023 and 2024, Kroger and Albertsons proposed transferring the Carrs name and a number of Alaska stores to C&S Wholesale Grocers as part of the planned Kroger-Albertsons merger remedy. The Federal Trade Commission blocked the merger on December 10, 2024, ending the proposed sale and leaving Carrs-Safeway within the Albertsons structure.

1. 2024Updated divestiture plan is proposed

   The revised proposal covered 18 Alaska stores, including all 11 Carrs locations identified in the plan and several Safeway and Eagle locations.

   Source
2. 2024Proposed Carrs transfer is abandoned after merger blockage

   The FTC blocked the Kroger-Albertsons merger on December 10, ending the proposed sale of Carrs to C&S Wholesale Grocers.

   Source
3. 2023Proposed sale to C&S is announced

   Kroger and Albertsons announced a plan to divest the Carrs brand and 14 stores to C&S Wholesale Grocers as part of their proposed merger remedy.

   Source
4. 2011Fuel-rewards program takes effect

   Carrs/Safeway introduced its customer fuel-rewards program, linking grocery purchases and loyalty-card activity to fuel discounts.

   Source
5. 2007The Great Alaska Tobacco Co. becomes a Carrs division

   Carrs began operating the seven-store Great Alaska Tobacco Co. as a standalone tobacco-retail division.

   Source
6. 2000Alaska Marketplace closes

   The stores divested during the Safeway acquisition process and reopened as Alaska Marketplace ceased operating at the end of the year.

   Source
7. 1999Safeway acquires Carrs

   Safeway acquired Carrs in April and retained the regional name as Carrs-Safeway.

   Source
8. 1992Super Valu is acquired

   Carr-Gottstein acquired the Fairbanks supermarket chain Super Valu, previously known as Market Basket.

   Source
9. 1990Carr-Gottstein is sold through a leveraged buyout

   Senior executives John Cairns and Mark Williams acquired the business from Larry Carr and Barney Gottstein.

   Source
10. 1967Mall at Sears opens

    The company developed the Mall at Sears, contributing to the movement of Anchorage retail activity toward Northern Lights Boulevard.

    Source
11. 1966Aurora Village Shopping Center is developed

    Carrs developed a second store and the associated Aurora Village Shopping Center along Northern Lights Boulevard in Anchorage.

    Source
12. 1960Carr and Gottstein formalize their partnership

    Larry Carr and Barney Gottstein combined retail grocery, wholesale, freight, and property-development activities.

    Source
13. 1950First Carrs grocery store opens in Anchorage

    Larry Carr opened the first Carrs store in a Quonset hut on Gambell Street in Anchorage.

    Source

A locally established Alaska supermarket brand combining regional name recognition and community presence with the purchasing, private-label, loyalty, and operating infrastructure of the Albertsons grocery network.

• Carrs-Safeway supermarketsSupermarkets1950

  The core Carrs-Safeway format provides conventional supermarket merchandise for Alaska communities. Stores typically combine fresh foods, packaged groceries, frozen products, beverages, household goods, health and beauty items, and selected service departments. The chain’s regional identity is inherited from Carrs, while its assortment, procurement, loyalty systems, and private-label capabilities are connected to the broader Albertsons organization.

• Fuel stations and fuel rewardsFuel retail and loyalty services2011

  Participating Carrs/Safeway locations operate fuel stations linked to the chain’s loyalty program. Customers earn points through qualifying purchases and can apply accumulated rewards toward fuel discounts, subject to program rules and redemption limits. The program has been adjusted over time, including changes to automatic discounts and the maximum number of gallons eligible for a redemption.

• The Great Alaska Tobacco Co.Tobacco retail2007

  The Great Alaska Tobacco Co. is a standalone tobacco-retail operation associated with Carrs. The division has operated as a separate chain rather than as a standard supermarket department and has been described as having seven stores.

• Prairie MarketWarehouse grocery stores

  Prairie Market was a warehouse-oriented grocery format operated by Carrs during the 1970s and 1980s. Its locations were concentrated near the Old Seward Highway in Anchorage and represented an alternative to the company’s conventional supermarket format.

• Eagle Quality CentersCommunity supermarkets

  Eagle Quality Centers served numerous smaller and mid-sized Alaskan communities, including locations both inside and outside the Railbelt. The format formed part of Carr-Gottstein’s broader regional retail network before the business became Carrs-Safeway.

• 2024Expand proposed Alaska divestiture packageM&A

  The proposed Kroger-Albertsons merger remedy was updated during regulatory review.

  What changed. The revised plan identified 18 Alaska stores for transfer, including Carrs, Safeway, and Eagle locations.

  Aftermath. The proposed transfer was abandoned when the FTC blocked the merger in December 2024.

  Source
• 2023Propose divestiture of Carrs to C&S Wholesale GrocersM&A

  Kroger and Albertsons proposed combining their businesses and identified store and brand divestitures as a remedy for competitive concerns.

  What changed. The companies announced a plan to transfer the Carrs brand name and 14 stores to C&S Wholesale Grocers.

  Aftermath. The plan was revised in 2024 but did not take effect after the FTC blocked the Kroger-Albertsons merger.

  Source
• 1999Retain the Carrs name after Safeway acquisitionM&A

  Safeway acquired the Alaska chain, but Carrs had substantial local customer recognition and loyalty.

  What changed. Safeway used the combined Carrs-Safeway identity rather than replacing the Carrs name with the Safeway brand.

  Aftermath. The regional name continued within Safeway’s and later Albertsons’ operating structure.

  Source
• 1999Divest seven stores under antitrust consent decreeOther

  The proposed Safeway acquisition prompted an antitrust lawsuit by the Alaska Public Interest Research Group.

  What changed. Safeway reached a consent decree with the Alaska attorney general’s office requiring the divestiture of seven stores.

  Aftermath. The divested stores reopened as Alaska Marketplace, which closed at the end of 2000.

  Source

• 2024Expanded Alaska store divestiture plan is announced

  An updated divestiture proposal increased the group of Alaska stores associated with the Carrs brand transfer to C&S Wholesale Grocers.

  M&A
  Source
• 2024FTC blocks Kroger-Albertsons merger, ending proposed Carrs transfer

  The Federal Trade Commission blocked the Kroger-Albertsons merger in December 2024, preventing the related transfer of the Carrs brand and stores to C&S Wholesale Grocers.

  RegulationM&A
  Source
• 2023Kroger and Albertsons announce proposed Carrs divestiture

  As part of the proposed Kroger-Albertsons merger remedy, the companies announced plans to sell the Carrs brand and a group of Alaska stores to C&S Wholesale Grocers.

  M&A
  Source
• 1999Safeway completes acquisition of Carrs

  Safeway acquired Carrs from an employee ownership group and retained the regional name in the Carrs-Safeway identity.

  M&A
  Source

1. Carrs-Safeway
2. Carrs-Safeway official website