We recently covered some of the grocery chains that are likely to go out of business soon. After posting the article, we were delighted to hear from some of our readers about other grocery stores that are in danger of closing their doors. In our initial article, we covered stores like Winn-Dixie, Giant Eagle, Save A Lot, ShopRite, and Smart & Final. However, those aren’t all of the grocers that might be on their way out. Here are some other stores our readers mentioned.
Piggly Wiggly
There have been a number of Piggy Wiggly stores that have closed over the years. Four locations have shuttered their businesses in 2024. That said, there are still 503 Piggly Wiggly stores open across 18 states. Although the grocer lost favor in many parts of the United States, it has been able to keep its doors open in multiple states across the Southeast and Midwest.
Martin Supermarkets
Martin Supermarkets was another store mentioned by readers in the comments. Although I’ve never heard of this store, there were quite a few in the Northeastern part of the country. Martin merged with Ahold Delhaize, which also owns Food Lion, in 2016. After that, many of the stores branded “Martin” moved out. Now, there are only 21 left in northern Indiana and southwestern Michigan. In some cases, locations where there used to be Martins have been taken over by Publix.
Stop & Shop
Multiple people agreed that Stop & Shop is probably on its way out, with one predicting that it would disappear before ShopRite. Right now, Stop & Shop has 397 locations in the United States. However, they are rapidly closing stores. In July, the store announced it would be closing another 32 locations in New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, and Massachusetts.
Mergers Happening Everywhere
There have been a lot of mergers happening in the grocery store industry. The Giant Company, for instance, is struggling to keep up. One commenter pointed out that it is likely that some of those locations will close, but they’ll be replaced with more successful brands owned by the same parent company. Both Giant and Food Lion are owned by Ahold Delhaize. It’s possible that Giant stores, also known as Giant-Carlisle or Giant/Martin’s, will get knocked out, but Food Lion might take their place.
Mergers might be able to save some of these stores, especially if they are popular within the community. Aldi purchased Winn-Dixie. In some areas, they may decide to keep the Winn-Dixie name. Others may convert to Aldi. It will depend on the community and the success of individual stores.
Local Grocers Being Phased Out
One significant comment about the article pointed out that smaller local grocers are being phased out in many areas. Much of the time, these privately owned-and-operated stores just can’t keep up with the rising prices of groceries. Ultimately, they aren’t able to provide the competitive pricing you might see at places like Publix or Kroger.
Grocery Chains Are Changing
In the end, grocery chains are changing with the needs of the customers. Some of the most beloved grocery stores are being phased out due to mergers or just bad luck when it comes to keeping up with the times. What is a store you miss going to?