ERIE, Kan.— As Chicago studies whether to become the first big city to open a municipally-owned grocery store, it will be looking to places like this city of 1,000 people for tips on how to do it. At the moment, things aren’t going especially well. Erie Market, which the city took over in 2021, is losing money almost every month amid stiff competition from a Walmart 15 miles away and a Dollar General across the street. The store has slashed prices, cleared the shelves of expired items and put in a salad bar to try to bring more people through the door. But leaders aren’t giving up. “Without a grocery store, what are we going to do? It would kill this small town and it’s hard enough to keep it alive as it is,” said Erie City Council member Jason Thompson, a Republican who owns a trash-hauling business. Erie is among a handful of cities across the U.S. that have taken over or started up grocery stores as a way to stave off decline and make it easier for residents to get access to fresh foods. All of them are small, but that could soon change.
Source: Wall Street Journal
