Safeway swallows up Andronico’s grocery chain

A Bay Area supermarket with five locations and a loyal following in the region is being bought by Safeway, officials with the supermarket said Wednesday.

Andronico’s Community Markets, with stores in Berkeley, Los Gatos, San Anselmo and San Francisco, will transition to the Safeway name.

Officials with Safeway or Andronico’s were not immediately available to say when the deal will be complete or when the name of the stores will change.

The owner of Andronico’s, Renovo Capital, which purchased the supermarket out of bankruptcy in 2011, sat down with Safeway officials to talk about a deal earlier this year.

One aim of the sale is to preserve union jobs and the stores will continue to operate in the same way, Andronico’s officials said.

Company officials said more jobs may be created because of the deal. Employees’ union pay and benefits will remain the same and workers will stay in their current roles.

“We’re proud that Safeway has chosen our stores and our TeamMates to join their dynamic company,” Andronico’s CEO Suzy Monford said in a statement. “We’re synergistic retailers who share a commitment to best quality, local and artisan foods, as well as in supporting union jobs within our communities.”