43
Residents, officials worry over impact of grocery closures
Photo
Youngstown native Chris London, pastor of New Vision Baptist Church, said he has shopped at Bottom Dollar Food on Glenwood Avenue since it opened in February 2012 because of how convenient it is for him.
By KALEA HALL
and DAVID SKOLNICK
news@vindy.com
YOUNGSTOWN
Frequent Bottom DollarFood shopper Arlene Denney was a little upset over news of the store’s closing.
She came to the Glenwood Avenue store Thursday to grab a few items and often went to the store for church bake-sale items and Easter hams.
“I get some really good buys for my church,” St. John’s Greek Orthodox Church, she said. “We are going to miss that.”
This week, Delhaize Group, the Belgium-based parent company of the discount food store, announced the sale of the stores to ALDI Inc.
Overall, there are 66 stores closing by year’s end and 2,200 employees affected in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Locally, there are three stores in the Youngstown area and one in Warren. These are the only Bottom Dollar locations in the state.
Delhaize will focus its company on the traditional supermarket segment in the future and leave the discount-food segment. Delhaize also operates the Food Lion and Hannaford brands in the U.S. The $15 million transaction with ALDI is expected to close in the first quarter of 2015.
The transaction is expected to result in an approximate $180 million loss for Delhaize, according to its third-quarter earnings report released Thursday.
A spokesperson for ALDI said it is “premature to share any plans specific to the purchase of these assets at this time. After the transaction has closed and ALDI has finalized its plans, ALDI will communicate them as appropriate.”
ALDI welcomes Bottom Dollar employees to apply for open positions. ALDI plans to open 650 new stores across the country and expand to Southern California. The expansion is expected to create more than 10,000 jobs at ALDI stores, warehouses and division offices.
About 100 Bottom Dollar employees, most of whom are part time, will lose their jobs in the Mahoning Valley by the stores’ closing.
They each will be given severance pay, and some will be eligible for career services, said Christy Phillips-Brown, director of external communications and community relations for Bottom Dollar Food.
“We want to thank all of those who supported Bottom Dollar,” she said.
One of those local supporters is Youngstown native Chris London, pastor of New Vision Baptist Church. The Rev. Mr. London went to the Glenwood Avenue location Thursday for a few items.
“I shopped here since they opened,” he said. “It’s convenient. It’s in the neighborhood.”
If the three Bottom Dollar locations in Youngstown are permanently closed, city officials fear the impact that would have on those neighborhoods.
Mayor John A. McNally said his administration is writing a letter to Bottom Dollar and ALDI “to attempt to clarify what their intentions are with the locations.”
While concerned about all three stores that opened in February 2012, McNally said the location on Glenwood Avenue is at the top of the list.
The city gave the Glenwood property to Bottom Dollar for the grocery store — and wants it back, he said.
“I don’t want an empty store there,” McNally said.
That location is vital to that area of the city, said Councilman Paul Drennen, D-5th, who represents it.
“When the Bottom Dollar disappears, once again we’re back to the residents’ having to travel to Cornersburg or the two convenience stores there for food,” he said. “Unfortunately, it’s a food desert over there when Bottom Dollar leaves. It’s crucial we find a replacement for that location.”
The Bottom Dollar-ALDI announcement was a “shock,” Drennen said.
“I’m worried all of a sudden that there will be no grocery store there and a vacant property,” he said. “ALDI could easily move into that location. It would make sense as there are no other grocery stores nearby.”
Councilman Mike Ray, D-4th, whose ward includes the Bottom Dollar on Mahoning Avenue, said he’s worried about the future of that location as there are no other grocery stores nearby.
“We need to look to see if Aldi is going to reopen, and if not, who we can attract to that area because people need easy access to food,” he said. “There is a market and a need for grocery stores there.”
The closing of the Bottom Dollar location on Midlothian Boulevard is “sort of sad as they came in with a lot of hope” for strong business, but it didn’t work out, said Councilman John R. Swierz, D-7th, who represents that area.
There are other grocery stores nearby, but Bottom Dollar will be missed, he said.