EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – Fairmont City’s Killian Weir was on his way to get groceries from East St. Louis’s Save A Lot on Vieux Carre Drive when he noticed an empty parking lot and a sign on the supermarket’s door.
“It says sorry, we’re closed, with two little sad faces on it,” Weir said on Tuesday. “I knew nothing about it.”
Unlike the warning, Cahokia Heights shoppers were given about the recent Walmart closing, East St. Louis shoppers found it when they approached the store’s front door.
“You could’ve knocked me over with a feather when I saw this store was closed,” Weir said.
Weir said he’s been noticing a trend of stores closing. First, it was his local independent grocery store, Foodland, in Fairmont City. Then there was the Cahokia Heights Walmart, and now there is the Save A Lot, which, according to a nearby Da Grind Fitness employee, Kenyun Newble, closed last week.
“I was sad because I supported the business,” Newble said. “We’ve been telling people it’s closed now, so you have to go get your groceries from somewhere else.”
Save A Lot could not be reached for comment on why the store closed.
Alonzo Perrin is one of those shoppers who stopped by on Tuesday with his mother.
“My mom lives right up the street, and this is a place I would go to normally if I need to get her some stuff for her coffee,” Perrin said.
He had even partnered with the store owner on community events.
Weir said he is hoping someone will still take over the store and bring it back.
“Hopefully, Save A Lot can hook up with fresh blood, and we can get a grocery store back in here,” he said.
East St. Louis does have another Save A Lot store open about five miles away.