New grocer counteracts food desert
When Kroger officials announced in January 2018 that stores in Orange Mound and South Memphis would be closing, they were met with protests and pleas from Memphians concerned about widening food deserts.
On Monday, residents in one area impacted by a grocery store closure has reason to celebrate — Superlo Foods announced it is opening a new store in one of the vacant Kroger locations.
The new Superlo will move into the former Kroger building at Lamar Avenue and Airways Boulevard.
Randy Stepherson, president of Superlo’s operating company Stepherson Inc., said his company has been interested in occupying the shuttered Orange Mound location since Kroger announced they would be leaving. Kroger cited millions of dollars in losses as the reason for closing the store.
Micaela A Watts
“We would have been happy to do this a year and a half ago when Kroger announced they were closing two of their stores, but we’re a small company — and we had just opened another store in Parkway Village,” Stepherson said.
Kroger, Stepherson said, deserved credit for keeping the closed property intact and viable for the next grocer. In addition, Stepherson said, Kroger donated the building to Superlo.
Superlo has built a reputation over decades as being one of the city’s more affordable grocery providers and the Orange Mound location will bring relief to residents who are without transportation and miles from a full-scale grocer.
“We operate on the lowest pricing margin we possibly can,” said Stepherson.
The Orange Mound location will be Superlo’s ninth store in the Greater Memphis area.
Food deserts in Memphis
The United States Department of Agriculture has designated large swaths of Memphis on either side of the Poplar corridor as food deserts — areas of low income and low access to fresh foods.
The lack of access to grocery stores, especially those without reliable transportation, must rely on small convenience stores with costlier products and limited selections of fresh produce.
Stepherson said he was approached by Kroger representatives last spring, as well as community stakeholders who pushed for a grocer to occupy the closed Kroger location.
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland was present for the announcement on Monday morning, and credited both companies as well as the district’s councilwoman, Jamita Swearengen, for sustaining the push to bring back a full-service grocery store.
“We’ve been working on this for several months, and I couldn’t be happier to see it finally happen,” Strickland said. “This was a true team effort between our administration, Councilwoman Jamita Swearengen, Kroger, Superlo, and most importantly, members of the Orange Mound Community.”
The opening date of the new Superlo has not yet been announced.