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Most residents of North Texas take neighborhood grocery stories for granted. But that’s not the case in a Southeastern Dallas neighborhood, which was a food wasteland with stores over five miles away, when Save U More opened in 2016.
This store near the corner of Simpson Stuart Road and Bonnie View Road closed on New Years Day.
People who shopped there on the last day found very little to buy.
“You can see all the way from the front of the store to the back of the store and all the way down to the shelves,” customer Pearl Smith said.
In the months leading up to Friday’s shutdown, some neighbors said low inventory led to the store’s decline.
Councilor Tennell Atkins who represents the area has fought for years to find a developer willing to open a store in the food desert.
“We have to make sure that this community has fresh vegetables, fresh fruits and fresh meat,” he said.
There was a good deal in 2019 when Rodney Wiggins, who ran the store at the time, said it was a tough place.
“A lot of people are afraid to come to this region. This area needs to be talked about, ”Wiggins said.
There have been crime problems in this area in the past.
But there are also hungry people in the apartments and single-family homes in the neighborhood. Paul Quinn College is just down the street.
The city of Dallas gave the developer a $ 2.9 million grant to renovate what was a decaying old mall and open the grocery store. In return, the promoter had to keep a store available to the district for 10 years.
“He’s been doing it for five years. He said yesterday that he made a commitment to be here for 10 years. It needs time to restructure itself, to come up with a different kind of concept to reopen, ”said Atkins.
In August, a group of critics staged a protest outside the store, opposing any further spending by the city.
“Where did all the money go and when did the city start to rescue grocery stores and failed businesses,” critic Eric Williams said that day.
On Friday, Atkins would not rule out additional spending for the city.
“I think all options are on the table,” Atkins said. “The city always invests in the community. I don’t think the city will stop investing in the community.
Atkins said the neighborhood needed a grocery store and that he would support its reopening.
“It would be awesome. It would be really awesome,” said customer Pearl Smith.
She left the store for a longer ride on Friday which she said she didn’t like finding food elsewhere.
Some neighbors of neighboring apartments say they will count on convenience stores and a dollar store that are within walking distance of the area. These stores provide milk and packaged goods, but not fresh food and full-service groceries.
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