READ THIS NEXT: Thrift Stores Including Goodwill Are Closing Locations, Starting Dec. 23. While we’re saying hello to the new year, some people will be saying goodbye to a go-to grocery store. IGA is planning to permanently shutter a location in Aurora, Indiana, next month, local radio station Eagle Country 99.3 reported on Dec. 12. Owner Joe Jester told the news outlet that the store will close permanently on Jan. 2. According to Jester, reduced foot traffic and negative profits factored into the decision to shut down for good.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb “We’ve enjoyed taking care of the customers, there just wasn’t enough of them,” he said. Jester took over ownership of the Aurora IGA five years ago when it was originally two weeks from closing, Eagle Country reported. But now that the lease is up again, the current owner said he is not going to sign another five-year lease due to the lack of customers. Best Life has reached out to IGA to see if the company has plans for any other store closures in the new year, but has not yet heard back. A beloved grocery store in Maine may shutter even earlier, however. The Freedom General Store in Freedom, Maine, has just begun clearing out its remaining inventory in order to close its doors permanently, WVII Fox Bangor reported. The store’s owner broke news of the impending closure to customers in a Dec. 12 post on the store’s official Facebook page. “First of all, I want to thank all the wonderful and loyal customers who have supported this store over the years,” owner Carrie Cowell-Bennett wrote. “After many months of consideration and soul searching, I have made the decision to close the store. Given the current state of the economy and workforce, it’s time to move on to something new.” According to Cowell-Bennett’s post, there is no specific date set for the Freedom General Store’s closure. Instead, the owner said the store will be offering 50 percent off all groceries and hardware this week as a going-out-of-business sale until there is no more product left. “Our final day will depend greatly on how quickly the inventory goes,” she explained in her post. RELATED: For more up-to-date information, sign up for our daily newsletter. Stop & Shop customers will also be losing at least one store soon. The Northeastern supermarket chain is planning to close a location in Brooklyn, New York, next month, CBS News reported on Dec. 12. A spokesperson for the company confirmed in an email to Best Life that the Stop & Shop store located in Brooklyn’s Flatbush neighborhood will close on Jan. 19. “Stop & Shop made the difficult decision not to renew our lease at our Flatbush location because the store was underperforming from a financial perspective,” the spokesperson said. But residents will be getting a different grocery store as a replacement. “Food Bazaar will take over the space,” Stop & Shop’s spokesperson said. Stop & Shop already shuttered several stores throughout both New York and New Jersey in 2022, but more closures are coming. Alongside the Brooklyn closure, Stop & Shop is also planning to close a New Jersey location: The company is set to shutter its supermarket in Highland Park, New Jersey, MyCentralJersey reported in July. While Stop & Shop confirmed at the time that the Highland Park store on Raritan Avenue will close in 2023, an exact date had not yet been determined, according to the news outlet. “After a detailed review of the operating performance of our stores, we have made the difficult decision to not renew our lease at our store in Highland Park,” Stop & Shop said in a statement, per MyCentralJersey. In a statement to Best Life, a spokesperson for Stop & Shop added, “A closure date for our Highland Park, NJ store has not been confirmed. These store closures are not indicative of any larger scale plans. Stop & Shop conducts reviews of its business performance on a regular basis, and these stores were identified as underperforming relative to financial expectations.”
