BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Tops Friendly Markets will close one of its seven locations within the city of Buffalo when its lease expires this summer.
The store, at 1770 Broadway near Bailey, will shut down in August. It is the oldest Tops store in Erie County.
The supermarket chain says there are six other Tops locations within a three mile radius of the Broadway store. Among them is the Thruway Plaza store, which is undergoing $2 million renovations.
The next nearest grocery stores are more than a mile and a half away across from the Broadway Market, forcing shoppers who previously walked- to take the bus.
“The bus alone adds four more dollars to my grocery bill each trip," Anders Quintano said, who added that a few bus trips a month can add up quickly when you're on a tight budget.
University District Councilman, Rasheed Wyatt, recently proposed an idea to the Buffalo Common Council that would bring fresh produce to local family discount stores. It would provide healthy alternatives in communities with limited food suppliers, like those on Buffalo's East Side. The common council has invited regional managers of stores like Family Dollar to their next hearing.
“If you have stores like these, these major chains, doing the same things it really helps in situations where large stores decide to leave communities and leave them empty-handed," Wyatt said. “To have these things available, readily available, when in many cases people don’t own a car or have a means of transportation, it’s very important.”
All 57 associates at the Broadway store will be offered jobs at another Tops location, the company said.
Tops says there are no plans to close any other stores in the area.
Williamsville-based Tops, which emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November, currently has 159 locations in Upstate New York, Northern Pennsylvania and Vermont.
