Northeast OKC to lose only full grocery
The last grocery store in northeast Oklahoma City will close on Monday, leaving residents with few nearby options for fresh produce, meat, poultry and basic staples taken for granted in most parts of the city.
The closing of Smart Saver at NE 23 and Martin Luther King Avenue comes just three years after the owners, Hank and Susan Binkowski, changed the concept from what was seen as a higher brand Buy For Less.
The move angered community leaders, including former Ward 7 Councilman John Pettis, who felt betrayed by the Binkowskis who had previously promised they were going to rebuild the store into their premium Uptown Grocery concept.
Susan Binkowski, who oversees real estate for the couple's company, told The Oklahoman she would discuss the matter on Thursday but then did not answer repeated calls as word spread of the closing.
Reports circulated that employees at the store were told at a company meeting on Tuesday they were being transferred to other stores owned by the Binkowskis and no mention was made of reopening a store in northeast Oklahoma City.
Shoppers interviewed by The Oklahoman were saddened by the news. One elderly woman in a motorized wheelchair exchanged a final goodbye with a cashier, saying “I'll miss you” after being told of other store locations miles away.
The woman, who declined to provide her name, then rode her wheelchair along the sidewalk on NE 23 to head home. She indicated she will end up riding her wheelchair to Walmart at NW 23 and Pennsylvania Avenue four miles away.
Jabee Williams, a local businessman, community leader and nearby resident, meanwhile, is among those who have been frustrated with the condition of the store.
Williams, who is about to open a restaurant as part of a redeveloped shopping center nearby, said he has spent recent weeks trying to recruit black-owned grocery operators across the country to see if they can buy out the Binkowskis.
Williams said Thursday he is left wondering whether the Binkowskis have sold the corner where they once promised a King's Crossing shopping center or whether they are simply abandoning the store and hoping to sell the corner at a later date.
“If she still has it, she has a responsibility to turn it around and do something good with it,” Williams said. “But based on the broken promises she made in 2014, I don't think that's going to happen.”
Williams criticized the Binkowskis for providing what he argues has been substandard quality meats and produce but at the same price charged at their premium brand Uptown Grocery stores located in Edmond and near Nichols Hills.
“What really bothers me is that the idea is the community here, because we don't have anything else, then we should be grateful we have that,” Williams said. “And then we should accept the table scraps we're given. And that's what it feels like.”
Cathy O'Connor, president of The Alliance for Economic Development for Oklahoma City, spent years trying to craft an agreement with the Binkowskis on tax increment financing assistance for King's Crossing but those talks ended months ago.
Prior to his resignation from the city council, the area's Ward 7 councilman, John Pettis, waged a campaign to urge the Binkowskis to sell their property following their failure to proceed with development of the proposed $20 million King's Crossing.
Tension goes back three years to when the Binkowskis asked the city to increase its contribution, a mix of tax increment financing, tax credits and loans totaling at least $8.5 million but said to be $10 million short of their final request.
O'Connor said she had not been contacted by the Binkowskis about the closing, but added her efforts to get a modern grocery in northeast Oklahoma City will continue.
Williams, meanwhile, said he wants to see a different operator.
“They're shutting it down, without notice, and that shows they don't give a damn,” Williams said. “We need something. We don't need that. ... We need a great grocery store.”