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Bottom Dollar closed
By Kalea Hall
YOUNGSTOWN
Youngstown resident Georgia Newton was happy to have a Bottom Dollar Food store in her neighborhood.
She went to the Glenwood Avenue location on Tuesday in hopes of buying some groceries, but the store had already closed its doors for good.
“The parking lot was always filled,” she said. “The customer service was great.”
On Monday, all of the 66 Bottom Dollar locations in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey closed their doors.
Locally, four stores closed: 890 E. Midlothian Ave. in Youngstown; 2649 Glenwood Ave. in Youngstown; 3377 Mahoning Ave. in Youngstown; and 1756 North Road SE in Warren.
In November, the Belgium-based parent company of Bottom Dollar, Delhaize Group, announced it sold its discount-food stores to ALDI Inc. so the company could focus on the traditional supermarket segment. About 2,200 employees were employed by Bottom Dollar, and about 100 locally.
The stores, which first started to open in 2010, were to close by Jan. 15.
“As of 2 p.m. [Monday], all Bottom Dollar locations have closed and we have sold through all of the product at the stores,” said Erin Munley DeWaters, manager of external communications for Bottom Dollar. “We would like to thank the Youngstown community for its support over the last couple of years.”
Newton hopes a new grocer will open in Bottom Dollar’s place so she doesn’t have to venture out of her way. ALDI has not said what will happen with the listed Bottom Dollar stores in the Mahoning Valley.
“It really is premature at this point to comment on specific sites,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “As you may know, ALDI has been serving customers throughout the region for 20 years, and it is the company’s intention to open new ALDI stores at a number of the former Bottom Dollar Food locations.”
ALDI and Bottom Dollar expect the $15 million real-estate transaction to close by the end of March. After that is completed and ALDI has the chance to evaluate the Bottom Dollar locations, the company will release its plans for the opening of new ALDI stores.
The Valley locations’ windows were covered in paper on Tuesday.
A “Store closed; thank you for your loyalty” sign was posted at the Glenwood and Mahoning Avenue locations.
All three locations would have celebrated their third anniversary in February.
Youngstown Mayor John A. McNally said the police have been notified to check on the Youngstown stores now that they are closed.
“We have encouraged ALDI to open up in Youngstown,” McNally said.
Bottom Dollar owns the Glenwood Avenue and Midlothian Boulevard locations and leases the Mahoning location. If ALDI does not want to open stores at the Glenwood and Midlothian spots, the city wants the properties.
City officials have said they have talked with local grocery-store owners about the locations.