After three decades on the Island, the North-end Albertsons will close on July 5 due to poor sales and rent increases.

Albertsons is known for charitable efforts in the community, and for its kosher deli and bakery.

“We know all of our individual store employees have personal heartfelt messages for their loyal Mercer Island customers,” said Sara Osborne, public relations manager for the Seattle division of Safeway. “This has certainly been one of the favorite stores for our employees, and it is because they are so fond of the community, and have been welcomed and treated so well by the families that have made Albertsons part of their daily lives.”

Albertsons and Safeway merged in January 2015.

The property is in the residential-central focus area in the Town Center, meaning it has a maximum four story height limit if redeveloped. Osborne said there are other supermarkets with different business models interested in operating in the space.

Some residents answered phone surveys in March asking about their interest in a PCC coming to Mercer Island. The regional president of Whole Foods sent a letter to the Mercer Island City Council on Feb. 1, alluding to the company’s efforts to find a site on the Island.

That letter came in the midst of the city’s negotiations with Hines Residential, while the developer planned a mixed-use project right between Albertsons and QFC, and discussed putting a “high end grocer” in the ground floor retail area.

“I cannot count the number of Islanders who have asked for a Whole Foods, PCC or Trader Joe’s on Mercer Island and chastised the Council for not making that happen,” Deputy Mayor Dan Grausz wrote in an email update.

The Mercer Island Albertsons employees were informed of the closure over the weekend. The human resource department is working to find positions for them in different stores within the company. The pharmacy closed Monday, June 8. All files and prescriptions are being transferred to the Mercer Island Rite Aid, and the staff will also begin transferring to other pharmacy positions within the company, Osborne said.

“Like all retailers, we’re constantly evaluating the performance of our portfolio of stores. Closing an underperforming store is always a tough decision, but we’re focused on growing our business by being the favorite local supermarket, and running great stores where people love to shop. In Mercer Island, we are also unfortunately facing a substantial rent increase that makes it financially unfeasible to remain in the space,” Osborne wrote in an email statement.