BALTIMORE — One of the only supermarkets in southwest Baltimore is closing, leaving residents shocked and scrambling to find a solution.
Price Rite supermarket announced it will close next month, after 10 years at Mount Clare Junction shopping center in Pigtown.
"It's devastating to the neighborhoods," said Kim Lane, executive director of Pigtown Main Street, who noted residents were "shocked" to hear the store is leaving - especially since the shopping center was recently remodeled.
Much of southwest and west Baltimore is considered a food desert. The next closest supermarket to Price Rite is the Food Depot in Westside Shopping Center, but Lane said "that's quite a hike. It could be two buses, for a lot of people. It's not an affordable Lyft ride... And so now what folks are left with is Dollar General in Pigtown, and some convenience stores, which is not where you're going to get produce. The smaller stores, as we know, have higher markups - and obviously less products, especially less healthy products, or bulk products if you're trying to feed a family affordably."
"We estimate at least 90 percent of the customers walk or use public transportation. Pigtown alone is 5,000 people. It definitely impacts neighborhoods to the north and to the west. So you're talking tens of thousands of people who no longer have an accessible grocery store, and especially produce," she said.
Mount Clare Junction was also recently bought by the New York-based Carlyle Development Group; the company has not yet responded to a request for comment.
Karen O'Shea, spokesperson for Wakefern Food Corporation, which owns Price Rite, said in a statement:
"After 10 years, Price Rite Marketplace of West Pratt Street has made the very difficult decision to close the store next month. Price Rite appreciates the loyalty of customers who have supported the store through the years and the dedicated team members who have worked hard to serve the community. We are sharing information with our team members regarding potential job opportunities and available positions at other Price Rite Marketplace stores in the region."
The Price Rite building was previously a Safeway, but was also vacant for a number of years.
When Price Rite opened in 2012, it promised to hire 130 workers for what was its second location in Baltimore.
The Southwest Partnership neighborhood group is holding an "emergency community discussion" about the supermarket's closing, at 7 p.m. Nov. 22. The coalition said it "will be inviting community leaders, councilmembers, funders, and industry experts."
Lane said Pigtown Main Street hopes to work with Baltimore Development Corporationto bring a new supermarket to Mount Clare Junction - "and to be transparent, especially since the owners of the shopping center are asking for a revision in their zoning that needs community support."
She added:
"The community is organizing and coordinating all of the community associations. That's how devastating this is, that people are coming together quickly... We know that the BDC has helped to bring grocery stores to other areas in the city. And so we would expect the same."
Susan Yum, marketing director for BDC, said the agency has been in talks with a possible supermarket and has offered them incentives.
"BDC is actively working with the owner of Mt. Clare to attract a new grocer to the site," she said in a statement, although she noted: "Currently, the area is not considered a food desert. We have provided the owner with a package of incentives available to that site, which include loan options from multiple funds, assistance programs such as BGE Economic Development Incentive and Energy Efficiency Programs and BDC’s Façade Improvement Grant. The location is also eligible for tax credits such as Enterprise Zone Focus Area benefits, which include real property, personal property and income tax credits, and if the area is considered a food desert after the store closes, a new grocer could be eligible for Grocery Store Tax Credit, which also offers personal property tax credits."
