Roughly five years after opening, the Fresh Grocer supermarket on the corner of Chelten and Pulaski avenues in Germantown has closed its doors. The store closed last week following a meeting to discuss the store’s conditions.
People complained about the store being dirty and infested with rodents. Just last year, the store was cited by the city because of issues with cleanliness. Known for opening stores in low-income communities, the site of a dilapidated Fresh Grocer will unlikely do well for the company image. The stores provide jobs as well as a convenient location for residents to buy groceries. Some Germantown residents anticipate what could come next for the location.
“It seemed like the biggest problem was that the prices were high and the quality was low,” said local resident Taylor Ambush. “My mom and I went in once to buy some meat and it turned out to old, but they covered up the expiration date with a bunch of other stickers.”
“I think this Chelten Plaza business is good for the area. Didn’t make sense having a grocery store down the road, at least if new businesses come into the property, it’ll bring new jobs into the area,” said Joseph Milligan. “Getting people working again is what we need.”
Pat Burns, CEO of Fresh Grocer, could not be reached for comment. But at the meeting about the store closing, he said he plans to open a Save-A-Lot or Dollar Store where the Fresh Grocer once stood in a new complex called Chelten Plaza. He also said the store wasn’t making enough money to stay open.
Another meeting will be held to discuss what the new store will be. The Germantown Community Connection, an organization that keeps Germantown residents up-to-date with issues in the community, will host the meeting.
This location was destined to fail from day one. The employees were rude, the food was awful and no one liked shopping there. Anyone with a car in that part of Germantown would drive somewhere else rather than shop at that dump. There was zero onsite management and future failure was all but obvious.
The parent company doesn’t care about the Neighborhood or the people who live and work there. If Pat Burns did care he would have had Pulaski Partner’s parcel of property located along Pulaski Ave and W. Rittenhouse St.(atttached to the Fresh Grocer property) Instead it festered with garbage, graffiti and an unsecured structure. Complaints from the neighborhood to L&I were ignored or buffered with the help of Councilwoman DRM.
People will always push the employment angle with, “_____place needs to open for business and put people back to work”. Really? I highly doubt that anyone who had a job at that Fresh Grocer enjoyed working there.
This takes “You are what you eat” to a new level. We’re just day old meat over here in G-Town.