BALTIMORE — A grocery store is closing in Baltimore County later this summer.
The Shoppers located at Perring Plaza on E. Joppa Road is scheduled to close its doors on July 15.
With Safeway across the street and a Giant down the road, this won't bring a food desert to the area, but it does leave regular Shoppers customers unhappy.
"This is a very convenient area, so having multiple grocery stores is definitely a bonus, so I can see this affecting people,” said Ashley Coughlin, a Shoppers customer.
Maryland's Department of Labor posted the closure on their Work Adjustment and Retraining Notification Log after being notified on May 1.
Sara Emminger, a Shoppers customer, said she first heard about the store's closure from speculations posted by community members on Facebook.
“I didn’t believe it at first because of rumors on Facebook, you never believe,” said Emminger. “I love shopping at Shoppers; they’ve got good prices, good friendly employees, and everybody is very nice in here.”
According to the state, 49 employees will be impacted.
But locals like Levon Watkins, who frequents this store, said he will be impacted too.
“It’s like a revolving door, I was living in the Alameda area just before they closed that one and opened it back up,” said Watkins. "I don’t understand why they’re closing, they’re going to let these other markets come here, economy already up, prices are already up with these other markets.”
Perring Plaza is owned by Bethesda-based Federal Realty Investment Trust, which also owns dozens of other commercial properties across the country.
Shoppers occupies a 57,706-square-foot space at the shopping center that's currently co-anchored by other businesses such as Micro Center, Home Depot, and Jo-Ann.
According to Federal Realty's website, only two retail spaces are available for rent at Perring Plaza, not including Shoppers.
