Back in December we told you that Haggen Supermarkets from the Seattle Area had acquired many Vons And Albertsons supermarket locations, including two stores here in Santa Clarita. Today, Haggen announced that the merger between Albertsons and Vons had been completed and the takeover of the divested stores by Haggen has begun with the first store changing hands tonight just after Midnight.

Haggen will acquire the Vons store on Bouquet Canyon and the Pavilions on McBean Parkway. Those two stores, as well as 81 other stores in California will tansition between March and May of this year. Up to twelve stores will be converted weekly the company said.

Haggen intends to retain the local store employees as best they can, offering existing employees invitations to stay on with Haggen. “Retaining the existing store employees was an essential part of the acquisition and we hope they all accept our invitation to join the Haggen family” said Bill Shaner, CEO of Haggen Pacific Southwest in a statement. “These are great teams and these new employees will be an incredible asset to our growing company. Plus, these familiar faces will help ease the brand transition for long-time customers,”

At the core of Haggen’s values are a commitment to working with local suppliers to provide Haggen will work with Unified Grocers out of the City of Commerce to supply grocery needs to stores in Southern California, Nevada and Arizona. Produce will be primarily handled by Charlies Produce out of the Pacific Northwest, with more local and regional partners to be announced shortly.