Chattanooga residents who rely on Food City on East 23rd Street for their groceries will have to go elsewhere.
The store is closing as another one opens on Broad Street.
The East 23rd Street grocery store has served the community for decades: first Red Food Store, then BI-LO, and eventually Food City.
The store will close on Monday evening, and area residents will now have to travel to Food City on Broad Street, about a 10-minute drive from the East 23rd Street store.
Jesse Mills has shopped at the 23rd Street store for more than 20 years and lives about a mile down the road.
He was shocked by the closure.
“It doesn’t feel great. I’m a disabled veteran myself and it makes it hard for myself and others, especially seniors like me, to get around and get the things we need,” Mills said.
Shelley Budreau has been a regular customer at the store since last year and said her heart goes out to those who relied on the grocery store.
“Currently, residents have to take a bus from 23rd Street to Broad Street to get to the grocery store. We need a treed path to get to the nearest grocery store,” Budreau said.
She thinks there needs to be a shuttle service to transport people.
Janine Carpenter with the Chattanooga Area Food Bank said the situation has left the area more food insecure than ever before.
“This is a densely populated, relatively low-income part of the city, where people live on fixed incomes and often rely on shared transportation or public transportation, so it was an accessible location,” Carpenter said.
It takes up to 30 minutes by bus or 50 minutes on foot to get from East 23rd Street Food City to the Broad Street location.
The East Ridge location is a 7 minute drive or a 50 minute walk.
“People may be able to get transportation, but they may have to spend a little more money on it and they may spend less on food,” Carpenter said.
“When there are changes in the food system or what people have access to that create additional barriers, you’re going to see an increase in the number of people who need help,” Carpenter added.
Ron McCreary, another regular customer, said he will miss the customer experience.
“Getting to know the people behind the registers and stocking the shelves. They’re not just people doing a job. They’re part of my experience as a shopper,” McCreery said.
