Northside Aldi, Walgreens closing is a gut punch to residents
Walgreens customers have until March 6 to transfer pharmacies. Otherwise, all prescriptions will be sent to the Walgreens in Robbinsdale. Photo by David Pierini
By David Pierini, Editor
Patricia Bryant stepped out of the cab in front of the Walgreens pharmacy on West Broadway and was greeted by signs announcing its closing. After March 6, her cab rides get longer and more expensive.
Shari Brandt felt a similar blow when the Aldi on Penn Avenue North closed for good on Feb. 12. It had been an affordable choice amid the soaring supermarket prices to feed her family of five.
The news that North Minneapolis would lose a grocery store and pharmacy came in the same week and, while a shock, was hardly surprising to some residents who see the closings as just two more cases of disinvestment in their community.
The closing of Walgreens leaves Minneapolis with one pharmacy, inside Cub Foods. Cub, 701 West Broadway Ave. N. Cub is one of three remaining grocery stores that include North Market, 4414 Humboldt Ave, N., and So Low Grocery Outlet, 3111 Emerson Ave. N.
“It’s a huge blow,” said Minneapolis City Councilwoman LaTrisha Vetaw, whose Ward 4 covers North Minneapolis north of Lowry Avenue. “I mean we have so many challenges already and to have one around food... another essential... This is just so heartbreaking. I am very sad to hear that Walgreens is closing. Our community can not afford to keep taking big hits like these.”
Both Aldi and Walgreens were located on major bus routes and were critical stops for residents without transportation. Neighborhood Facebook pages hosted pictures of specials at Aldi and its discounts helped shoppers whose budgets were otherwise pinched by soaring food prices.
Aldi executives told Vetaw the Penn Avenue location did not fit plans underway nationwide for store expansion and remodeling. Vetaw said the building owner was willing to work with the growing supermarket giant.
North News talked to an unnamed employee who said theft and an inability to attract people to job openings at the pharmacy were behind the closing.
In a written statement, a Walgreens spokesperson said: “When faced with the difficult decision to close a particular location, several factors are taken into account, including our existing footprint of stores and dynamics of the local market, and changes in the buying habits of our patients and customers.”
Patricia Bryant’s routine for getting her prescriptions is now disrupted. Walgreens will automatically transfer prescriptions to its Robbinsdale store.
“This is a disappointment because this was more convenient,” Bryant said. “I moved here from Chicago last year so I’m not very familiar with the city. Nothing surprises me. I’ve lived through a lot of things so I’m just trying to hang in there.”
Four days before the closing of Aldi looked like any other shopping day. If a shopper had missed the closing announcement posted on the doorway, one clue would’ve been the near empty aisle that famously features an odd assortment of non-grocery items, like weights, shoes, lawn furniture and paper shredders.
A woman named Fatoumata was emptying her grocery cart into a minivan when a passerby told her the store was closing. There are six in her household.
“I like to come shopping here because the food is cheap,” she said. “This is very sad.”
Shari Brandt said she is very budget- conscious as the main shopper of her family. Feeding three growing children is expensive. Her husband has a gluten intolerance and Aldi had a number of affordable gluten-free items.
“I was very surprised and sad,” Brandt said. “I think especially with inflation and the cost of groceries going up. As a mom of young kids it was just I don't know how to feel like ‘oh man,’ another affordable option is gone.”