6 Grocery Chains Closing Locations in 2024
The grocery store is a constant in our lives, with the primary shopper in the household making an average of 1.6 shopping trips per week, according to Statista. However, despite the regularity of grocery shopping, customers are sometimes forced to abandon the comfort of their tried-and-true, go-to store, where the prices are right and the aisles familiar, due to frequent closures that have been plaguing the industry since the COVID era.
Last year, shoppers had to say goodbye to numerous supermarkets, and 2024 will be no different. Throughout the year, grocery retailers both big and small have shuttered multiple locations across the U.S., with financial underperformance being the catalyst behind many of these closures. And many closures are still to come.
Wondering if your favorite supermarket is shutting down this year? Here are six grocery chains that are closing or have already closed stores in 2024.
Walmart
This year has been a busy one for Walmart, which has been implementing various changes, from technological upgrades to expanded delivery options. However, not all of these major changes are exciting for customers—like the store closures. Since the year began, the retail giant has closed 11 locations across California, Colorado, Maryland, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Georgia due to financial underperformance. Of these 11 closures, five were located in California.
Most recently, Walmart shuttered two Georgia stores—one in Dunwoody and another in Marietta.
"This decision was not made lightly and was reached only after a careful and thoughtful review process," a Walmart spokesperson said in a statement shared with Atlanta News First. "We are grateful to the customers who have given us the privilege of serving them."
Walmart currently operates 4,609 units across the U.S., according to its website. Going forward, the retailer aims to open or convert more than 150 stores over the next five years.
Stop & Shop
On July 12, Northeastern grocery chain Stop & Shop made headlines after announcing it will close 32 underperforming stores on or before Nov. 2. These include five stores in Connecticut, eight in Massachusetts, 10 in New Jersey, seven in New York, and two in Rhode Island.
"As we announced in May, Stop & Shop has evaluated its overall store portfolio and made the difficult decision to close underperforming stores to create a healthy base for the future growth of our brand," Gordon Reid, president of Stop & Shop, said in a press release.
After closing these stores, Stop & Shop will operate more than 350 stores across its five-state footprint. Reid told The Associated Press that the grocery chain will keep building new stores and remodeling existing ones. Since 2018, Stop & Shop has remodeled more than 190 stores. The grocery chain said these remodeled locations are outperforming the stores that haven't been remodeled.
Eatwell Market
At the beginning of June, Midwestern grocery chain Schnucks announced that it will discontinue its Eatwell Market banner, which had two small-format stores in Missouri—one in Columbia and another in Chesterfield. While the Chesterfield location permanently closed on June 2, the Columbia location is getting converted into a traditional Schnucks store. The conversation will be complete this August, according to a recent Instagram post shared by Schnucks.
"Our teams at each Eatwell Market put their best foot forward to nourish the lives of their customers—making this a decision that was not made lightly," Todd Schnuck, Schnucks' chairman and CEO, said in a press release. "After significant analysis and evaluation of what we could do to make each store more successful during current economic conditions, we concluded the most prudent path forward would be the discontinuation of the Eatwell banner."
The Eatwell banner focused on organic, local, and specialty items. The Chesterfield store opened in 2020, while the Columbia location opened in 2023.
99 Cents Only
In April, 99 Cents Only, a regional retailer that sold discounted groceries and other essential items, announced that it will close all 371 of its stores in Arizona, California, Texas, and Nevada. In a press release, the company cited the "unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, shifting consumer demand, rising levels of shrink, persistent inflationary pressures and other macroeconomic headwinds," as factors that negatively impacted the company's operations.
The company said it "engaged in an extensive analysis of all available and credible alternatives" to keep the business running. However, the company concluded that "an orderly wind-down was necessary and the best way to maximize the value of 99 Cents Only Stores' assets."
As part of the shutdown, 99 Cents entered an agreement with Hilco Global to liquidate all merchandise and dispose of certain store fixtures, furnishings, and equipment. Hilco Real Estate (HRE) is managing the sale of the 99 Cents' real estate assets.
Dom's Kitchen & Foxtrot
On April 23, Dom's Kitchen & Market and Foxtrot Market, two Chicago-based, upscale grocery store brands, announced on their websites that they will be closing all of their locations starting on April 23. These unexpected closures included two Dom's stores in Chicago and 33 Foxtrot Market locations in the Chicago, Austin, Dallas, and Washington, D.C. areas.
"We explored many avenues to continue the business but found no viable option despite good faith and exhaustive efforts," the chains wrote on their websites.
Less than six months before, the brands announced they would be merging under a new entity, Outfox Hospitality. The company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection about a month after the closures were announced.
While Dom's remains closed, Foxtrot has plans to reopen stores. The grocer's website and recent Instagram post read, "A new Foxtrot with some old friends. Coming soon."
Foxtrot co-founder Mike LaVitola told NBC Chicago at the beginning of June that the company plans to open several locations in Chicago, Dallas, and Austin this summer. CBS News later reported that the Gold Coast, Fulton Market, and Old Town locations will reopen in Chicago, with the full list of re-opened locations to be announced at a later date.
Save a Lot
Missouri-based discount grocery chain Save a Lot shuttered 42 stores in 2023, according to CBS News. This trend is continuing throughout 2024, as the supermarket chain has said more than a few goodbyes this year.
At the beginning of 2024, Save a Lot closed an Indianapolis location, which employees said was due to the building being in disrepair, according to the Indy Star. Shortly after, this closure was followed by another one in Richton Park, Ill. Then, a store in Rogers, Ohio, shut down due to "lack of business," according to WKBN27.
Save a Lot later closed locations in Altoona, Pa. and Perryville, Mo, with Sarah Griffin, the company's direct of public relations and community engagement saying that the independent licensee who owns and operates these locations decided to close. Griffin added that the Perryville closure is a result of "changing marketing conditions," according to KVFS 12.
Save a Lot has also closed stores in Beckley, W.V.; Butler, Pa; Niles, Ohio; Rockford, Illinois, Buffalo, N.Y.,and West Allis, Wis., along with two locations in Southern Dallas.
In January, Save a Lot shared during the National Retail Federation's Big Show that it aims to expand its store count from nearly 800 stores to almost 3,000 over the next few years, as reported by Grocery Dive.
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