BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Save-A-Lot shopper, Ben, came to the Broadway market Tuesday expecting the chain grocery store to be open.
"I get here and the doors says temporarily closed," Ben said. "And I wanted to get some snacks."
A handwritten sign on the front door reads, "Sorry for the inconvenience. Closed." A sign beyond that says the store is only open between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.
The shelves and store are nearly empty.
"There are people with families that do need to come get stuff that rely on this store," Ben said.
Within about 10 minutes of being at Save-A-Lot, 7 News saw a handful of people show up at the front doors only to be met with the sign that says, "closed."
Owner Ron Horrigan told 7 News in June that the store is closing. He said he was six months behind on rent and had been dealing with shoplifting.
7 News tried contacting Horrigan on Tuesday but didn't hear back.
"I'm not gonna allow my constituents to be strung along. The fact of the matter is, if you don't want to have operations, if you can't make the numbers work, if you can't find proper funding to alleviate your concerns to stay there throughout the duration of your lease, then we're going to break up," Fillmore District Council member Mitch Nowakowski said.
Nowakowski said the Broadway Market's property manager — who did not respond to 7 News' request for comment — has been trying to come up with ways to save the grocery store.
"But it appears that the owner just doesn't want to stay there in good faith," Nowakowski said.
He added that the store is about $60,000 behind on rent and that the owner has yet to properly notify the city about leaving the market.
"I do want my constituents to know that I don't find any pleasure or want at all for them to lose something that they already have. But I know that that space the market manager in the city could come up with a plan and re-RFP it out for a new vendor to come in," Nowakowski said.
Meantime, for these shoppers, this closure is a gut punch.
"A woman with children came up there either wanting food or supplies for the babies and it's horrible," Ben said.
