Several months after announcing a plan to sell the company, the Hames Corporation has found a likely buyer. Owners of the Sitka grocery business announced on Tuesday (11-11-25) that they have signed a letter of agreement to sell the business to Albertsons-Safeway, a national grocery chain.
Under the tentative agreement, Safeway, an Albertsons subsidiary, will purchase all of the businesses under the Hames Corporation umbrella. That includes Sitka’s largest grocery store, Sea Mart, Watson Point Liquors, Market Center, and Cascade Convenience Center, as well as Newtown Liquor in Ketchikan.
Earlier this year, owners Roger and Mary Hames announced their plans to sell the multi-generational family-owned business. Roger says while they’ve signed an agreement, there are still more steps before the sale is finalized early next year.
“I would say it’s probably, at this point, a 95% chance that they will be the one, in the end,” he said in an interview with KCAW on Wednesday (11-12-25). “So we’re well on our way, and again, we’re in the due diligence phase now. That includes many, many questions as it gets into the fine details all about your operations, and that’s the process that we’re working through.”
He says they announced the sale update in a staff meeting on November 11, and have kept them informed on the process along the way. Under the agreement, Safeway plans to retain all employees that wish to remain with the company, but they will have to fill out new employment applications for Safeway’s records. And he says the buyer does not plan to change the names or logos of any of the stores, at least initially.
Mary said the process of working with the buyer has been a positive one.
“We have every every faith that is going to be great,” she said. “What I appreciate was that they understood the connection to our community. They have really got it ingrained in them, what our businesses mean to the community and what the community means to us. They’re getting it, and that’s important to us.”
She said they’ve received a wide range of community feedback since announcing their decision to sell earlier this year.
“We have received very kind notes and thanks, and ‘Oh, we’re so happy for you, and we wish you all the best’ to ‘Oh, my goodness, I’m depressed, I’m so sad, you know, why are you doing this?’ And I get it,” she said. “But I think that, overall, we’re really feeling the love from the community.”
They hope the new owner will continue their many local events and charitable giving programs the company is known for, but Roger said they recognize that once the business is finally sold, it’s out of their hands.
“We’re hoping and praying the fit will be really, really good, but they’re not us, and we have to move forward, and we’re not going to be able to, nor should we really lament about anything or have any regrets about what we’re doing,” he said. “This is a chapter in our lives that is changing. It’s not easy, like Mary said, and we take it very personal and take it very responsibly, and we just want to move on at this point.”
At the same time, he said they’re not going anywhere.
“Sitka is our home. I was born there. Mary’s been there for close to 50 years. Our kids were born, all there,” he said. “All of our kids and all of our grandkids are there, and we’re very involved in their lives. And Sitka is home, it’s going to remain home.”
Both the Hames Corporation and Albertsons-Safeway have agreed on a closing date of January 30, 2026.
