Written by Amanda Coers – As commuters made their way down Main Street during the lunch hours, many took notice of a large crane removing the Kroger sign. A handful of Kroger employees watched as the final act of closing signified an end to four decades of business.
The grocery store, located at 302 N. Main Street, opened in 1978. An official announcement from the Kroger corporate office in Coppell, Texas, confirmed the closing in March.
“Within the past several years, we attempted to increase sales, profitability and store conditions, but despite our best efforts, we were not successful,” wrote April Martin Nickels, with Kroger Corporate Affairs.
Though corporate claimed low performance as the reason for the closing, many community members were left baffled by the company’s refusal to make needed improvements to the aging store.
In 2011, the City of Brownwood along with the (then) Brownwood Economic Development Corporation and the Brownwood Chamber of Commerce engaged a retail consultant to assist recruitment for the area.
“The research from our consultant showed that the grocery store market was underserved in our community,” said Mayor Stephen Haynes.
Mayor Haynes contacted Kroger Corporate about replacing or expanding its store, but the offer was declined.
In October of 2017, the Brownwood Municipal Development District heard rumors of Kroger’s potential closing. BMDD Executive Director Guy Andrews reached out to Kroger Corporate and offered assistance to revitalize the Brownwood store. There was no response from Kroger.
Over 60 store associates were employed at the local Kroger. Corporate offered those employees severance pay during the closing process. As the official news of the store’s closing broke, the BMDD began looking for ways to help the impacted employees find new jobs, and for developers to fill the retail space that now stands vacant.
“People are our first priority,” Marshall McIntosh with the BMDD told Wendlee Broadcasting. “Our most important thing is what we do with those jobs. We want to connect those qualified employees with companies who need them, and will do so by working with the business community and the Chamber of Commerce.”
As the sign was lowered to the ground, former Kroger Manager Jason McLaughlin stood next to it, stopping for a few brief pictures.
The store’s closing ended on a lighter note, thanks to McLaughlin’s work and the dedicated employees. Over $6,000 worth of food was donated to Good Samaritan Ministries’ food bank through the annual Souper Bowl of Caring event.
“That campaign meant a lot to us,” he said. “We really tried to do the most good we could as we left the area.”
