SCOTT CITY, MO - Bob's Foodliner announced last week that they are planning on closing their doors for good, and the Scott City government officials are hoping they can ensure groceries stay in their town.Ìý
"In my opinion, it’s devastating," Scott City native and City Administrator Dustin Whitworth said.Ìý "And maybe that’s a hardÌýword but I’ve lived in this town for 50 years and we’ve always had a local grocery store here in town. I thin kit would hurt a lot of our residents â€� whenever we needed something local we would just run to the store and get it."
Bob's Foodliner is the only full grocery store in the southeast Missouri town of about 4,500 people. There is a Dollar General down the road.Ìý
The store announced on Facebook that because of "recent events" they plan on closing. They've also limited their hours to 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Bob's Foodliner had no further comments.Ìý
Scott City is about 20 minutes from the nearest grocery stores in Cape Girardeau or Chaffee. That means that if someone has no transportation, they're now limited to the food selection in town.Ìý
That's why the city government is already having conversations about what they can do to ensure there's a grocery business.Ìý
"I’ve had a lot of people contact me and ask me," Whitworth said.Ìý "There was a chamber meeting lastÌýThursday and it was a big discussion there. What’s Scott City going to do for a grocery store? And right now we don’t have any definite answers. I’ve had good contact with Paul and Bob'sÌýFoodliner and he’s open to anything. He doesn’t want to see it closed as well, for him, it’s just not the right time."Ìý
Whitworth says he's open to hearing everything and has been in contact with various grocery store chains like Food Giant, Aldi and more to see what kind of interest there is. Those at Bob's Foodliner would be involved in any use of the build - they still own it and do have a desire to see business continued.Ìý
"Everybody asks the question, what are we going to do? And as theÌýcity administrator for our town, I want to do all that I can do to provide a grocery store for them anyway I can," Whitworth said.Ìý
There are no certain decisions made on what's coming after the store closes.Ìý
As of now, the store is just selling their current inventory. There is no set date to close.Ìý
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