A Whole Foods store in a predominantly Black Chicago neighborhood at 63rd and Halsted Street, Chicago, was closed and the site was replaced with a Save A Lot store. The move did not go down well with the residents. A protest erupted at the soft opening of the Save A Lot store.
Joe Canfield who runs the Save A Lot Stores in the region told ABC News that the company was discussing the matter with the community.
“It takes time, that’s why we are excited about that Englewood opening, so we can say give us a chance to get through this process and you are going to have something very similar to what you have in Englewood in your community,” Canfield told ABC.
For months, residents have resisted the move to replace the Whole Foods Store.
“When people think of Save A Lot, they cringe. So when that banner went up, people were up in arms,” said Asiaha Butler, with the Residents Association of Greater Englewood.
An emergency meeting of the community was called at the Kennedy-King College on Wednesday night where the Save A Lot Executives faced hostile residents, who hold that they do not trust the brand and its products.
“So pardon us,” CBS reported one resident Stephanie Coleman (16th) telling a Save A Lot executive, “We just don’t want Save A Lot – because of the product, and the smell, and the poor service.”
“You have no respect for this community if you came here unprepared,” another woman chimed.
Another man said angrily, “You can’t tell me that you shop at Save A Lot.”
The Whole Foods store shut down in November and the site that housed it was leased by Yellow Banana, a company that owns 38 Save A Lot Store in Chicago and other cities.
According to CBS, Yellow Banana says they are investing $26.5 million into their chain to improve quality and services but the community remains skeptical and unwelcoming.
It remains unclear whether the Save A Lot store will reopen after the soft opening was troubled by a protest, forcing the store to shut down.
