Shoppers surprised to find neighborhood store suddenly closed
PORTLAND, Ore. – A popular grocery store in Southeast Portland is out of business and many customers want to know why.
Food 4 Less on Southeast Powell Boulevard put up signs this weekend to let people know it’s closed.
Jerry Simmons showed up to do some shopping on Sunday, only to discover the store he used to work for was no longer in business.
“I worked here about 30 years ago,” said Simmons. “I used to do the floors.”
Simmons said he continued to shop at Food 4 Less after he stopped working there.
“The people who lived in this area right here, low income, they relied on this store quite a lot. It was a discount store,” he said. “I’m really surprised it closed down.”
Shoppers can go to a Safeway about two miles away, but Simmons said that will be difficult.
“Most of them that don’t have cars will have to take the bus,” he said.
Wayne Weatherbee agreed.
“I go to the grocery store and put groceries in the car. Groceries that I can’t take on the bus,” Weatherbee said.
KATU spoke with the store’s manager and owner. They didn’t want to comment on why the store suddenly closed.
“I am disappointed, but I also feel guilty,” said shopper Janet Stein. “It was really so much fun every time I shopped here.”
We heard about this story from a KATU news tip. If you have a tip, send an email to newstips@katu.com.
It's too bad that they had to close down the poor old store. I remember going there as a child with my grandfather. Not to mention he passed away nine years ago. :(
I heard it closed down because our employment rate is too high.
This store was gross anyway.
¿¡¿Que?!?
Um, this was "not new".
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They had signs, were selling off everything, even the stuff nailed down.
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The reason why this closed was not WalMart 9although i think it gave execs a good reason). This store survived a Safeway, TWO Albertson's and TWO Fred Myers, AND the WalMart for about 12 years.
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But Kroger owns both Fred Meyer and Food 4 Less and wanted to stop cannibalizing their market share from the 82nd and Foster Fred Meyer.
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Not only that, but the big draw to this store is (was) its ethnic isles. But with the Russian grocer opened up next to the Dominoes Pizza, and the Fubonn opened up near Division, there was FAR less draw from those groups.
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This was NOT a surprise and not unexpected.
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 @Repoman As has been pointed out below, this one of the Food 4 Less that is apparently not owned by Kroger.
 @Jenni S.Â
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Well Kroger, independently owned, or whatever, I will certainly miss it.
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I have been a customer since 1989. I used to buy all my produce there and I liked the pepperoncinis and the fresh chocolate chip cookies.
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Well mayb my waste line will go back to pre-30+ levels.
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HA ha ha ha ha hLOL man I can be funny.
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@Repoman @Jenni S. Your missing it is what I was trying to get at to "on_your_side" below. I just don't have the gift of gab that some have,I guess. A lot of folks, especialy the elderly, have been going there since before Jesus helped his dad build the last rocking chair that they worked on together. I know (from personal experience) how hard it is to start something new.
 @Repoman this food 4 less had nothing to do with kroger or fred meyers, it was privately owned. and it closed it doors cause the owner retired.
I was given the impression from so many news articles that corporations are BAD... Here's one closing doors and people are getting angry? Â Worried? Â Upset why??? Â Doesn't this make the world a better place by removing yet another eyesore-of-greed?
This store wasn't a corporation. It was a single independent grocery store started 26 years ago by two men called Dick and Steve, sold a few year later to two men called Mike and Ron, and eventually owned by Mike on his own.
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You might want to at least get a slight idea of the facts before you start spouting off. Food4Less was the very definition of a small business. Whenever a long term small business goes under it's very sad.
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This store still employeed people who were hired when the building was under construction. A lot of people were laid off when this store closed. How does having over sixty people on unemployment rather than getting a paycheck make this world a bettter place??
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 @Umhal Wake up Umhal...there are bad corporations but generally speaking, their customers loose when they go under.
 @honorbound Snarky doesn't work, eh?  LOL
and this is news Why?
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@on_your_side It's alll about the trending of the economy. Some people are interested in such things because you can tell what's going on in the short term. Also, it DOES have a huge impact on some peoples lives; some are elderly, some are poor and don't have a way to get around. Note to trolls and whiners: you don't have to read it if you don't like the story!
 @iamtroglodite@yahoo.com  @on_your_side there is another major grocery store just 5 blocks away...
Blame Walmart.
 @Slackergrrl Yup. Everyone blames Walmart. Since when did Walmart become responsible?
 @Taylor Garrett  @Slackergrrl The Wal-mart that was there has recently expanded to become more of a super Wal-mart and sell groceries. It used to be just a few isles of grocery items and that was all. I lived in that area a few years ago and both the bus and Wal-mart were a zoo then, I cannot imagine what it will be like now.
@Sundowner   I shopped at both places and can't compare them. Food4Less had meats and fish and other items that no one else carried.....like rabbit and 5 flavors of 22 oz cat food, for example.  Wal-Mart has many things cheaper then other large food chains...but then, so does Winco. Food4Less was a special grocery store and I will miss it. There are now items I can no longer buy locally because they have closed. :(
 @BarbWire That place up on Sylvan Hill has always been a zoo too.  I don't blame WalMart.  =)
 @Willow  @Taylor Garrett  @Slackergrrl The bus has always been a zoo, can't blame Wal-Mart for that.Â
Why would you blame WalMart?? Apparently there isn't a WalMart nearby - at least the story doesn't mention it! Perhaps you were being sarcastic? If so, you should say so!
@musiclover There's a Walmart about 4 blocks away, actually. But, it's always been there so I don't see that as being a problem.
 @Sarbar  @musiclover The Walmart only recently started selling groceries at that location.
Looks like a new Homeless Shelter will be opening soon in that neighborhood....
I was raised in low income housing. This store had a high theft rate as do most of the others that operate in areas like this. It isn't rocket surgery. If it had ANY value at all it would have been sold or traded like any other commodity.
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 @Bob McMasterson Seems reasonable. This is why there isn't a single supermarket in Detroit. Ralphs opened one a few years ago but closed nearly as soon as it opened. They cited a nearly 30% theft rate as the reason.
@Bob McMasterson  "...rocket surgery", funny!
Yeah, "rocket surgery".  You know, sort of like being  a "Brain Scientist".
I guess it's possible that the owner is retiring, but typically you sell the store not close it down.  My guess is that they couldn't make a profit and couldn't sell it. Very sad for everyone regardless.
There was warning, i live in Oregon City and we heard about it last week through facebook and went and got some pretty good deals. It wasn't all that sudden.
So the poor folks in felony flats are wondering why a store would close.. Come on man.. The theft in that area is over the top... I'm not saying everyone is stealing, but let's say about 30 %.. Can you imagine having a store and 30% of your customers are robbing you blind.. The owner retired and closed the store , ??? what, like he wouldn't sell it.. No way !
um so as a regular of food 4 less and knowing several of the employees, what i was told was the owner retired, which wouldnt suprise me, he was ready, food 4 less was locally owned it was not a corporate store, the owner owned this one and the one in gresham, but closed the gresham one down after winco and walmart opened, now turning the walmart on 82nd and holgate into a superstore sure did not help food 4 less, i am sad to see it close but understand why
 @mamabear I guess the "employees" you know, know more then the one's I spoke to when I shopped there before the store closed.  Everyone I talked to there, at 6 employees were not told why the store was closing, that they left work one day and the next day were told that the store was closing in a few days.Â
 @mamabear @kramr Thanks for a bit of the inside story.  It doesn't quite match up with all the speculating that's been going on here â, everything from shoplifting to Obama. Â
its sad that people cant assume something positive like the owner retiring. im sad for the employees of the store most of them were very nice. food 4 less is the only store i could walk in and be told hello and them use my first name, or ask for them to order a kind of food and they do it. gonna miss food 4 less for sure
 @gofigure  @mamabear I agree, not one employee I spoke to knew why the store was closing, just that it was going to happen.Â
 @mamabear I think that if the reason the store was closing was positive the owner would have been willing to comment.
Sundowner, unless the store is a member only shop like Costco or Bi-Mart they cannot legally ask to see your receipt as you exit. Sure they can try but you do not have to provide it. Fry's tries but all you have to do is tell them no and walk past. There is no contract that says you must be checked at the door. I gladly provide my receipt at Costco but personally I am a bit offended when I shop at Fry's and get checked at the door. They have me on camera paying at the register and walking out, what more do they need. It makes everyone who shops there feel like a crook if you ask me.
Heh heh heh. I like you, Gleeker. It's actually illegal for them to force you to open your bag and show them stuff. We always walk right on by. And when you beep, you aren't legally required to stop and you can actually sue them if they try to stop you.
 @Gleeker I show them the receipt (i.e., I wave it at them for a few milliseconds) as I stay moving out the door.  Never stop me.
 @Gleeker I don't mind. If it helps get me lower prices by cutting down on theft it is OK...
 @Gleeker I think I know you from the "other" site....if it's the same name.  Yeah, I get that as far as checking the receipt.  I had that happen at a toy store in Lloyd Center and felt a bit put off by it.  My main point is that there were many things that went into the decision to close the Food4Less, shoplifting wasn't the deciding factor.  The owner said in an interview in 2008 that it was just a matter of time, they saw the writing on the wall when they closed the Gresham store. Â
The big fish - Safeway, Wal-Mart, Freddies, etc
either drive the smaller grocers out of business
or simply gobble them up.
 @Mipsfer Sorry Safeway is so expensive I don't see them as much of a threat. I grew up shopping at Safeway with my parents and worked in a Safeway in highschool and again in college so I liked the stores but over the past 15 years I saw prices going up, up, up there. For the most part, any union based supermarket is MUCH more expensive than employee owned stores especially Winco.
 @Mipsfer Exactly. Â
The store had signs up indicating they were closing for about a week (from what I saw). They had most of their products on sale at about a 30% savings through that week too. I asked a cashier why they were closing, and he didn't have an answer. It is sad to see them go, because the people who worked there were always very friendly. I know I'd rather go out of my way to the Safeway on Burnside or the Grocery Outlet on Flavel than go to the Foster Freddy's or Wal-Mart at Eastport for my shopping - customer service is a big draw for me.
Hope you like paying a lot more for your food, then - Safeway is just about the highest of any of the stores, at least in Woodburn. We used to have a Grocery Outlet that had some pretty good pricing, but they closed it down - now we have to go to WalMart or Mega Foods (same as Food4Less) to get decent pricing, unless Dollar Tree or Wheeler Dealer has what we need!
@musiclover I miss Grocery Outlet, they always had a big variety of cheeses to choose from. And, funny thing, some of it was very cheaply priced but very high quality. Now we drive a little farther to the one on Lancaster in Salem; 50 cents more gas each way but I try to do all the shopping @ the same time, so we go there AND Winco every 10 days or so. Lot of savings if you plan ahead.