Save A Lot’s doors will be closing for the last time at 6 p.m. on Sunday evening, leaving employees and customers wiping back tears.
Freeman Family Enterprises announced the store’s closure last Friday
“We are going to miss this place,” longtime shopper Sharon Gregorich said. “I spoke with Bob the other day and told him I was sorry to hear that the store was closing.”
Store Manager Bob Brandt has worked at the grocery store since 2002, when it was Alliance Foods.
“I have been here for twenty years and so has my assistant manager, Debbie Burby,” Brandt said. “We have been here since the store opened. I have been in the grocery business for 43 years. I don’t know what I am going to do. I will find another job.”
Brandt started working in grocery stores at 15-years-old. Likewise, his 15-year-old daughter works alongside him today. Come next week, the store’s ten employees will be job hunting next week. Not one is quite ready to say goodbye.
“I really loved working here,” said Burby of her twenty-year career. “I loved working with the public. A lot of seniors shop here. It is heartbreaking to tell them all. I have already shed a few tears with customers. The owners are great guys.”
The decision to close was made by the co-owners of Freeman Family Enterprises: Tim Freeman, Tom Freeman and Paul Freeman. Currently, the corporation owns 22 stores throughout the state.
“We want to thank the Sault community,” said (Tim) Freeman. “We are disappointed that we had to close the store. There have been a number of stores added since we first opened, and we just continued to lose business. We tried to hold on.”
The Freeman brothers spoke against a circling rumor that the property landlord sought to raise rental costs. This was not the case. Once the lease ran out, the landowner attempted to decrease rent.
The corporation’s Director of Perishables Mike Wolford assured shoppers that they did everything in their power to keep the lights on and doors open.
“We could not continue to sustain,” said Wolford. “It is tough to pinpoint a cause. Look at all the negative stuff that has happened. None of it has helped. We have thrown everything we had at it.”
According to Freeman, the grocery store was originally opened by Alliance Foods in 2002. Freeman Family Enterprises leased the property in 2006, turning it into today’s Save A Lot.
Brandt and Burby made speculation as to why they were losing business.
“It was road construction, Super Walmart, Meijer and the bridge closing to Canadians,” said Brandt. “It was a lack of sales.”
“It was a corporate decision, due to slow business,” Burby reiterated. “We have Walmart and Meijer here. The bridge has shut down.”
Freeman spoke highly of its Sault Ste. Marie employees.
“We have a great team up there and that is the most disappointing part,” (Tim) Freeman said. “It’s the people we have built relationships with over the years. That was the hardest thing about making the announcement.”
Brandt said that job searching has already begun, looking at possibly working for the Michigan Department of Corrections. At this time, all options are on the table.
Burby said she plans on staying in the area and looking for a new job – “I am leaving it in the Lord’s hands.”
The store’s remaining product will be transferred to other locations. Store items will not be placed on sale or marked as clearance this week.
Come Sunday, shoppers will be looking for another place to do their grocery shopping.
Steve Gregorich has been a loyal Save A Lot since its opening, coming in about once a week. After Sunday, he and his wife plan on shopping at Meijer.
“It was a friendly store,” Gregorich said. It was quiet and you weren’t fighting crowds. We are going to miss them.”
