Residents Start Petition to Save St. Andrews Road Kroger

For Marcia Stephens and her family, the Kroger on St. Andrews Road is part of their weekly routine.

She shops for groceries there because of the variety of natural foods available. She might stop by to pick up last-minute snacks for a work function. Her husband fills his prescriptions at the store's pharmacy. 

They won't be able to do any of those things when the store closes April 27. 

Marcia Stephens and her daughter, Avril Stephens, started an online petition to save the St. Andrews Road Kroger. So far, the petition has 28 signatures. 

The store closing will be detrimental to the St. Andrews community, Marcia Stephens said. 

"It looks pretty bad for a large store that's been here for so many years to just close its doors," she said. "It's a deterrent for businesses and families that may want to move to this area." 

Declining sales and negative profit for a long period of time led The Kroger Co. to their decision to close the store, according to a statement released by the company. 

"This decision was made only after extensive and careful review, and it is a necessary step toward making Kroger more competitive in the Columbia market," the statement reads. 

"All 90 associates will be considered for reassignment to other Kroger locations as outlined in the company’s collective bargaining agreement."

Marcia Stephens, a longtime St. Andrews resident and employee at Sandel Elementary School, said a lot of residents in the area don't have reliable transportation to get to another grocery store.

"It's within walking distance for people who don't have transportation," Stephens said. "It has higher-end food, and it's convenient." 

St. Andrews resident Alisha Charleman said she also shops at the store because of it's covenient location. She goes there so often that the employees know her by name, she said. They told her the store is closing. 

"It's not right," Charleman said. "Me, my mother, my whole family — we were all upset." 

Kroger used to be open 24 hours — another feature that made the store convenient for St. Andrews residents. On March 30, the store started closing at midnight and re-opening at 6 a.m.

The next closest grocery store is the at the corner of Broad River Road and St. Andrews Road. It closes at midnight Monday through Saturday. 

But Charleman and Marcia Stephens both said they would shop there or at when Kroger closes.

The St. Andrews Road Kroger also houses a Chick-fil-A that will close along with the grocery store.

Marcia and Avril Stephens plan to send the online petition to The Kroger Co. after they collect more signatures.