Grocery Chains, Including Wegmans, Are Closing Stores, Starting June 23

Wegmans is closing one of its stores this summer.

Wegmans has solidified its stance as a cult favorite grocery chain, despite having only around 100 stores across the East Coast. But its popularity wasn't enough to keep one location on its line-up. In a June 1 press release, Wegmans announced that it is planning to close its store in Natick, Massachusetts. The company said the closure is set to occur "later this summer," but an exact date has not yet been released.

Best Life has reached out to Wegmans to see if a specific closing day has been determined yet, and we will update this story with their response.

The company said this location wasn't getting enough customers.

Natick was determined to be an ideal area for a Wegmans store all the way back in 2009. But according to the press release, the company wasn't able to solidify a location for the town until a space opened up in the Natick Mall. Following the development, the Natick Wegmans store opened in 2018 as the chain's "first multi-level store within a major mall," as well as one of its largest locations at 134,000 store feet.

Despite these unique factors, the store has not been getting the demand that the company had hoped for. "Unfortunately, with this non-traditional location we are unable to attract enough customers for our business model to work," Brien MacKendrick, the human resources director of Wegmans New England division, said in a statement.

According to MacKendrick, it is "never easy" for Wegmans to make the decision to close one of its stores. But there are five more locations in the Greater-Boston area, and the company noted that it does not have plans to close any other stores as of now. "We love our Natick community and customers, and we’re eager to pursue new store locations in the area for the future. In the meantime, we hope to continue to serve our Natick customers through our e-commerce offerings and our other area stores," MacKendrick said.

Giant Eagle is shuttering a store later this month.

Wegmans isn't the only grocery chain planning an upcoming closure. Giant Eagle will also be shuttering a store in West Newton, Pennsylvania, this summer, local ABC-affiliate WTAE recently reported. A spokesperson told the news outlet that the location's last day will be June 23 because the store's owners, Mike Bingey and Maryann Bingey, have decided to retire and close up shop.

"We have greatly appreciated the support of the West Newton community for these past 35 years," the Bingeys said in a statement, per WTAE. "And we thank our team members for their commitment to helping us meet the needs of our customers."

Another chain is also closing locations in June.

Shoppers down in the South are set to lose some grocery options soon as well. In a May 5 press release, Natural Grocers announced that it will be closing two of its stores in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. According to the company, the two locations in North Texas will shutter for good on June 27.

"We made the difficult decision to close two lower-performing stores, Fort Worth-North and Coppell," Kemper Isely, co-president of Natural Grocers, said in the release. "We remain committed to serving the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and believe that our neighboring stores will continue to provide these communities the world-class customer service, quality and affordability for which Natural Grocers is known."

Closing sales for the Fort Worth-North and Coppell Natural Grocers stores started on May 15, with a 25 percent discount on all products. But these are just two of the company's 25 total stores throughout the state of Texas. "Natural Grocers states the decision to close the stores was made after careful consideration of each store's performance and reflects the company's commitment to enhancing operating efficiencies across its store base," the release explained. "The company states it currently has no plans to close any additional stores."