VILLAGE OF LANCASTER, N.Y. (WKBW) — Shoppers in the Village of Lancaster are upset over the sudden news that the Save-A-Lot on Aurora Street is closing sooner than expected.
We brought you news of the planned closure earlier this month and talked to shoppers who said they couldn't believe this was happening.
"They can't get rid of this. These people around here depend on Save-A-Lot," said longtime shopper Jan Bellanti. You can watch the full report below.
After posting that the store would close on September 7, Save-A-Lot announced on Facebook Friday morning that it's shutting its doors on Saturday.
I spoke to a resident who lives across the street on Friday and he was disappointed to hear that the store was closing.
"We need this store. Please, Aldi, somebody come on save us," he said. "The whole neighborhood depends on this store."
Robert Stevens shared pictures with me showing a nearly empty store.
"A lot of people in general in this area depend on this store," Stevens said. "I saw half-empty shelves and also completely barren refrigerators."
So I went inside to take a look and saw that many of the shelves were empty. The back wall, which is usually full of meats, was closed off.
"It's empty! And everything is on sale. I mean look at this 50 cents. Lucky I got the last of these," Cousin said.
With this last-minute notice of the store closing, John Belmonte and his wife Laura stopped in to get whatever was left.
I asked what they liked about shopping at Save A Lot, "It's cheaper. Convenient," they responded.
It's the low-cost grocery items that keep customers like them coming back.
"A lot of people shop here. Usually you see this parking lot pretty much full with cars because people come in here because it's more affordable," Belmonte said.
Once this store closes, people in this neighborhood will be left without a close and convenient option. The nearest grocery store after Save-A-Lot is Tops about a mile away. The other is WalMart more than two miles away.
Cousin worries for his neighbors without a car.
"It was vital. There's no way we could get to the nearest store which is Tops," he said.
"Just sad that they are closing we're gonna miss it," Belmonte said.
I did reach out to Save-A-Lot asking why the store is closing but have yet to receive a response.
