Rainbow Foods is closing in Richfield, leaving just one Twin Cities grocery hanging on to the name

Rainbow Foods has not gone the way of Red Owl yet, but soon there will be only one of its namesake supermarkets left in the Twin Cities.

The Richfield location near the Hub Shopping Center on W. 66th Street, which is owned by Jerry's Foods, will close March 16, the company announced Friday.

"All stores have a life cycle as the business evolves, and it's difficult to stay in it if you don't reinvest," said Kent Dixon, president of Jerry's Enterprises. "It was declining in sales volume due to competitive changes and two summers of road construction."

Only the Rainbow Foods in Maplewood, owned by Supervalu, will be left holding the shopping bag. "At this time we have no plans to close the Maplewood Rainbow store," Supervalu spokesman Mike Wilken said.

Rainbow was founded by Sid Applebaum in 1983 and grew to become the second-largest grocer in the Twin Cities, with 30 stores as recently as 2013. The company was sold to Fleming Foods in 1994 and to Milwaukee-based Roundy's in 2003.

In 2015, Roundy's decided to exit the market and nine of the then 27 Rainbow stores closed immediately. A group led by Supervalu that included Jerry's and other firms purchased the 18 others. All but six were quickly rebranded. Now, five of the six that kept the Rainbow name have closed or been changed.

Last year, Supervalu closed the Rainbow in St. Paul's Midway to make room for the new Minnesota United soccer stadium.

John Ewoldt • 612-673-7633