King Soopers delays Boulder store reopening as strike continues

FILE – In this Friday, April 23, 2021, file photo, photographs of the 10 victims of a mass shooting in a King Soopers grocery store are posted on a cement barrier outside the supermarket in Boulder, Colo. Several families and survivors of those killed in the mass shooting at a Colorado supermarket are demanding that a special master be appointed to help distribute public donations for victims to a centralized account, saying the nonprofits currently handling the funds are not giving all of the money directly to victims. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File) (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

by: Lanie Lee Cook

Posted: Jan 13, 2022 / 03:47 PM MST

Updated: Jan 13, 2022 / 03:47 PM MST

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BOULDER, Colo. (KDVR) — The reopening date for the King Soopers in Boulder, where a gunman killed 10 people last year, has been pushed back amid an ongoing worker strike.

The store on Table Mesa Drive has been closed since the March 22 shooting and was set to reopen next Thursday, Jan. 20. But as unionized King Soopers workers continued to strike, including in the Boulder area, the company announced the delay.

“This was a very difficult decision and after long consideration, we have decided to pause for the right moment to come together and unite on this next chapter,” Joe Kelley, president of King Soopers, said in a statement. “We know this is a monumental milestone in our healing journey and that it must be free of distractions.”

The company has not announced a new reopening date.

The worker strike continued on its second day on Thursday, with the union signaling they want to reopen negotiations on Friday. The union and King Soopers have been in negotiations for months on a contract that expired Jan. 8.

In December, the man charged in the murders was found incompetent to stand trial. He’s being treated at a state hospital, where the district attorney said he expects the gunman’s competency to be restored and trial proceedings to ultimately resume..