The chain that started in Boise about 74 years ago has been reunited in a company based in Southeast Boise.

It took $3.3 billion to accomplish, but Albertson's LLC is now operating Idaho's 33 Albertsons stores, under a deal with Minnesota-based Supervalu that closed Thursday.

A total of 877 stores, including non-Albertsons supermarkets and pharmacies, changed hands.

"For stores' employees and customers, they'll notice our focus is on running great stores and building a positive environment for them," said Christine Wilcox, spokeswoman for Albertson's LLC.

"There's still a lot that we need to figure out," she said. "We all have been with Albertsons for many years, and we're just excited to (have corporate operations) back here."

There are no store closures to announce, Wilcox said. The company laid off seven employees in Boise as part of restructuring, she said.

In 2006, Supervalu and a group of investors led by Cerberus Capital Management divvied up Boise's Albertsons Inc., a multichain company that included the flagship Albertsons brand. The Cerberus group created Albertson's LLC in Boise to control its stores, all of which were in other states.

"I don't want to say it's business as usual, because it's not," Wilcox said. "But from a store perspective, there's really no changes. The same people you see there will be there."

The Essential Everyday store brand will stay on shelves, and shoppers can still use their Albertsons customer cards.

Supervalu will continue to provide information technology and accounting services to Albertson's LLC from its Boise office, according to spokesman Mike Siemienas.

On Friday he said it was undecided how many Supervalu employees would remain at the Boise office. Some employees were told previously that their jobs would no longer exist after the deal closed. No layoffs have been announced, he said.

Supervalu cut its Idaho payroll after the 2006 purchase, but until recently it still employed more than 3,000 people in the state, including nearly 1,000 in Boise.

Audrey Dutton: 377-6448, Twitter: @IDS_Audrey