MANSFIELD — Maggie Melton has shopped at Geyer’s Fresh Foods for more than 20 years.
When she heard the grocery store was closing this Saturday, she screamed.
“I was in shock. I was like, ‘What am I going to do?’ All the other stores are far away, and I live in the area,” she said. “It is so convenient to shop here and know everybody. Sometimes I walked; sometimes I’d drive. It depends on how I feel.
“I just loved this store.”
These sentiments echoed the feeling of numerous Geyer’s customers on the southeast side of Mansfield.
Duwan and Jasmine James, who shopped at the location when it was named Food Town, said they will be forced to travel outside the neighborhood for essential purchases.
“It just means we’ll have to go further,” Jasmine said, suggesting they will visit the Kroger on Lexington-Springmill Road (nearly four miles from Geyer’s) and Wal-Mart on Possum Run Road (4.3 miles away, according to Google Maps.)
Four miles can be an issue for those who may suddenly be looking into public transportation as part of their grocery store routine.
“It’s very challenging when the folks least likely to have transportation have to get transportation to get to places outside of central Mansfield (for groceries),” said Jean Taddie, program director of the North End Community Improvement Collaborative.
“Everyone can visualize how hard it would be to bring all your grocery bags onto a bus. (In the north and southeast ends of Mansfield) it is much easier to buy beer, chips and cigarettes than to buy anything healthy.”
Taddie said Mansfield has had numerous local grocers depart the heart of Mansfield over the last several years. Ritchie’s Market, Weidle’s Meats and Delicatessen and E&B Market have left a black hole in the 44906 zip code, which was punctuated with the closing of Geyer’s.
A major concern among many of the Diamond Street grocer’s customers is where they can get real food — fruit and vegetables — now that their only nearby source is closing.
“They had certain foods that other stores (in southeast Mansfield) don’t carry. Their greens, vegetables are great. Their milk was always on sale and their water,” Melton said. “Throughout the week, they had food cooked already — ribs and fish on Friday. They had good sales. I loved this store.”
Geyer’s corporate offices in Crestline did not return phone calls for this story.
“They always seemed busy,” Melton said. “Everyone I know in the area comes (here).”
Jodie Perry, president of the Richland Chamber of Commerce, said she recognizes the troubling impact of another grocery store closing.
“It’s always disappointing when a business closes its doors. Neighborhood grocers are increasingly rare, and I think the Geyer’s store in this location had an important community impact by providing access to fresh food,” she said in an email. “We’re reaching out to try to figure out what happened and see what can be done to mitigate the impact.”
Melton is not ready to give up on the Geyer’s chain yet, she said, adding she may try and take public transportation to the Geyer’s in Lexington. But she doubts how often she’ll be able to make that trip.
“I’ll probably go to Kroger. It’s going to take me out of the way because I live over here,” Melton said. “I’m going to miss this store.”
