The only supermarket in downtown Mobile is expected to close by the end of the month. Save-A-Lot will shutter its Government Street location, closing on Feb. 28, company officials said.
The grocery store, which opened in January 2002, suffered from sluggish sales and was considered one of the company's "poor performing" locations, said Chon Tomlin, a spokesperson for the St. Louis-based company.
The average Save-A-Lot store is about 15,000 square feet with more than 1,300 locations in urban, suburban and rural areas stores nationwide. Save-A-Lot is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SUPERVALU in Minneapolis. It was
Tomlin said stores are constantly evaluated and that the Mobile store consistently placed in the bottom. "We have to go through it from a business perspective," she said. "Whenever we go into a community our goal isn't to close a store."
Tomlin said she doesn't expect there to be a clearance sale at the Broad Street location. Instead, "the shipments will probably slow down this week, but they try and keep with the volumes."
Their only other store in the area is in Pascagoula, Miss. Tomlin said she was not aware how many employees will be affected.