The news can feel overwhelming at times – it often seems like every story you hear about is heartbreaking and centered on violence or loss. We’ve got a heartwarming story today that will bring a smile to your face. The little town of Erie, Kansas, is quite small, with a population of around 1,500. This place feels like a step back in time to simpler days before corporations took over seemingly everything. It looked like that was all going to change recently when the town’s only local grocery store was set to close, but the town rallied together and changed all that. Check it out:
The town of Erie is a quintessential small Midwestern town where nothing seems to change. It’s quiet, peaceful, and easygoing. There aren’t a ton of jobs here, and many of the locals don’t own cars.
City of Erie This photo of Erie from 1906 shows a charming small town filled with thriving businesses.
The town’s most famous attraction is Erie Dinosaur Park, a collection of dinosaur sculptures made from junk metal.
City of Erie
The COVID-19 pandemic affected businesses across the world, but tiny businesses in small towns were especially hard-hit. Countless locally-owned shops and restaurants all over the country have closed over the last few years.
Erie, KS Chamber of Commerce/Facebook
The pandemic was especially hard on small-town grocery stores. Grocery stores have extremely thin profit margins, and issues like worker shortages and product scarcity can completely obliterate any profit a store might otherwise see.
Erie, KS Chamber of Commerce/Facebook The pandemic worsened a growing trend of small towns losing their only local grocery stores. In the summer of 2020, it looked like Erie was going to follow that route.
The town’s sole grocer was the locally-owned Stub’s Market, and its long-time owners wanted to retire. No one was interested in buying the business and city residents worried that this would be a death knell for their little town.
Google Maps Erie is home to Dollar General, but the selection of produce and fresh foods is quite limited at the national chain. To reach a larger grocery store, a 20 to 30-mile round trip is needed. People don’t want to move to towns with no grocery stores, and there was a legitimate fear that the city would die off if Stub’s Market closed.
The city government polled residents to inquire if they supported the City of Erie purchasing Stub’s Market. Nearly 70 percent of respondents agreed with the proposal and so the city arranged to purchase the market from its owners in 2021.
Stubs Market/Facebook The store has been renamed Erie Market. Since the city only needs to cover costs and not worry about maximizing profits, there are hopes that product markups can be reduced to pass savings on to customers. If costs to run the grocery store begin to outweigh profits, the city will add on a small tax of a few dollars to residents’ utility bills to cover the difference.
What a great story of a local grocery store in Kansas surviving despite the odds! Would you like to see more towns buy up failing grocery stores to allow residents to have greater access to fresh foods? Share your thoughts in the comments!
City of Erie
This photo of Erie from 1906 shows a charming small town filled with thriving businesses.
Erie, KS Chamber of Commerce/Facebook
The pandemic worsened a growing trend of small towns losing their only local grocery stores. In the summer of 2020, it looked like Erie was going to follow that route.
Google Maps
Erie is home to Dollar General, but the selection of produce and fresh foods is quite limited at the national chain. To reach a larger grocery store, a 20 to 30-mile round trip is needed. People don’t want to move to towns with no grocery stores, and there was a legitimate fear that the city would die off if Stub’s Market closed.
Stubs Market/Facebook
The store has been renamed Erie Market. Since the city only needs to cover costs and not worry about maximizing profits, there are hopes that product markups can be reduced to pass savings on to customers. If costs to run the grocery store begin to outweigh profits, the city will add on a small tax of a few dollars to residents’ utility bills to cover the difference.
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Address: Erie Market, 525 W State St, Erie, KS 66733, USA
