SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — For 60 years Raley’s has served the South Lake Tahoe communities with locations at Heavenly Village and in Tahoe Valley on the opposite end of town. In June, the Village location is set to close due to an expiring lease.

Chelsea Minor, executive director of community impact and public affairs for Raley’s said, “We’ve been in negotiations for about a year, but have not been able to come to an agreement with the landlord. We offered a bunch of different solutions including a rent increase and to continue to invest in the remodel. Unfortunately, the landlord was not in agreement with our proposal.

“We understood there was a bit of buzz in the community and we wanted to make sure we got ahead of that and that our team members heard directly from us,” Minor added. “That’s why we shared early without having a concrete plan.”

Minor added that the city council and city manager was informed in advance as well.

“We didn’t want them to think it was Raley’s pulling out of South Lake Tahoe, we remain committed to our Emerald Bay location,” Minor said. “I don’t want the team or the customers to think we didn’t want to stay. It has always been our intent to stay in this location. We hoped for a different outcome.”

The City said it would miss Raley’s, but it also opens opportunities for other businesses.

“Raley’s has been a great partner and will continue to be in the location at the Y,” said Assistant City Manager Lindsey Baker. “We will certainly miss them being there, but also look forward to seeing what may be on the horizon.”

The announcement came months before plans had been solidified for the store closure, Minor said, which is set for sometime in early June.

Minor added that while the early announcement is out of the ordinary for the corporation the usual progression of closing a store is to relocate the employees to other Raley’s.

Both the Heavenly Village and Emerald Bay Road stores are unionized. Minor said they will be working to honor those employee contracts. It is unclear how many positions will be filled at the Emerald Bay location with those displaced from the village location.

When asked if Raley’s may open any other locations within a 30-mile radius of South Lake Tahoe, Minor said they have been looking into options.