CHICAGO (WLS) — West Garfield Park neighbors waited for hours in the heat Thursday morning to be among the first inside the newly reopened Save A Lot.
Neighbors said the grocery store will provide much needed relief in the food desert.
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The reopening is a big deal for residents in West Garfield Park, who over the last 18 months have been forced to travel long distances to get to a supermarket. But despite the good news, there are also questions about whether the company behind the store and another five Save A Lot locations set to reopen soon will be able to keep up its commitment to the city.
Timothy Hamilton was the first in line to get groceries, waiting at least three hours for the store to open. He said the store’s reopening will help people have easier access to nutritious foods.
“It’s a big deal because it helps us out,” Hamilton said. “The savings are better and ain’t no stores around that you can really go to get food and stock up on.”
Save A Lot officials and local leaders cut a ribbon, marking the grand reopening of the store on 420 S. Pulaski Rd. near Congress.
“At the gas station their stuff is too high. So it was cheaper for me to go to like Pete’s or Walmart,” shopper Brenda Sanders said. “I had to catch at least two buses to get there and two buses to get back.”
The city closed the store two years ago because of a rat infestation. Once it shuttered, the West Garfield Park community was deemed a food desert, meaning residents had little to no options to access food nearby.
Ohio-based company Yellow Banana purchased six Save A Lots on the South and West sides, including the West Garfield Park location, with the goal of renovating and reopening stores.
“I think we’ve done a good job of acknowledging the shortcomings that have happened in the past,” Yellow Banana CEO Joe Canfield said. “We’re very focused on what happens in the future… We’re here. We’re not going anywhere.”
Yellow Banana received $13.5 million in city subsidies to get the job done and poured $2 million dollars in renovations into the West Garfield store.
A spokesperson for the city’s Department of Planning also told ABC7 that under the terms of the contract Yellow Banana doesn’t receive any money until a store opens and even then, all stores must remain open for at least 10 years or they risk forfeiting the entire amount.
“It’s our goal to make sure that this store stays open,” 28th Ward Ald. Jason Ervin. “That the community has access to fresh foods and vegetables.”
Before the store opened to the neighborhood, Save A Lot welcomed the community back, with a charity shopping spree for local food pantry, Above and Beyond, giving the organization’s executive director three minutes to fill as many carts as possible with groceries.
He said the opening of the store will help better address food insecurity in the neighborhood.
“It’s not uncommon for us to hear within the pantry that there’s nowhere to go, there’s no where local,” Ken Cozzi, executive director of Above and Beyond, said. “A lot of the corner stores, they are good but not great. Prices are high limited selection and it’s not all that nutritious.”
Ken was able to take grab more than $1,200 in free groceries for the food pantry.
Save A Lot also gave Ken a $500 gift card to use to buy groceries in the future.
Save A Lot stores are expected to reopen this fall in South Shore, South Chicago, West Pullman and Auburn Gresham neighborhoods.
Dates have not been set to reopen the remaining stores Yellow Banana are currently remodeling. A spokesperson said their goal is to have them all up and running by Thanksgiving.
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