Three Chicago aldermen who represent the city's South and West Sides blasted the abrupt closing of a grocery store in the area on Thursday.
Ald. David Moore (17th) said he was in shock when a constituent told him the Aldi Grocery Store on 76th Street and Ashland Avenue suddenly closed its doors.
“It’s not just about store closings,” Moore said. “I know for a fact it’s also about discrimination.”
Moore said it's the second vital grocery store that has closed, or announced it will be closing, in the area. He said it's about equity.
Related
“In Naperville, for every one person there’s 11,000 stores,” Moore said. “On the South and the West Sides of Chicago, there’s one store for every 110,000 people.”
Aldi's closing came only a couple of months after Whole Foods announced that it was closing its Englewood store — only six years after its big grand opening.
“The nearest grocery store from this point is at 71st and Ashland,” Moore said. “That’s one grocery store, but we’re talking about over 110,000 people. Therefore, when they get there the lines are super long, so they’re taking their money elsewhere.”
Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th) said he and his colleagues are calling for hearings about how to improve food access and cut down on food deserts in the city. He added that they want to know why businesses are defying their rental agreements and closing up shop without warning.
“I know this ain’t [sic] the last store to close, but it’s gonna be the last store to close without a plan following after it,” Lopez said.
Ald. Stephanie Coleman (16th) said it’s unacceptable that these stores don’t honor their rental agreements and commit to the community.
“You want to do business with the city of Chicago, then you’ve got to do right by all of Chicago — including Englewood,” Coleman said.
Aldi said it closed because of an uptick in robberies and a slump in sales. Moore said he's meeting with them on June 29th and called on the city to come up with a plan to replace the grocery stores.
Related
Related
Listen to WBBM Newsradio now on Audacy!