Cinncinati-based grocer Kroger announced in June that four Metro Atlanta stores would be closing by the end of the year. On June 18, Kroger shuttered its store on Morosgo Way in Buckhead a day earlier than scheduled.
The company also updated the closing dates for the three other underperforming stores: 11877 Douglas Road, Alpharetta, on Aug. 15; 3479 Memorial Drive, Decatur, on Sept. 12; and 3855 Buford Highway, Brookhaven, on Oct. 16.
Brookhaven residents are now wondering where they will shop and fill their prescriptions.
The closest grocery store to Skye Hill Kroger is Aldi at the intersection of Clairmont and Buford Highway, about 0.3 miles.
Other than that, there’s nothing in the immediate area, according to longtime Brookhaven resident Steve Walker.
“I wonder how the property will be utilized once the Kroger is gone. [There are] only three businesses in that shopping center: Kroger, Chase Bank, and Donnie’s Country Cookin’, a buffet restaurant,” Walker said.
If they’re brand loyal, people probably go to the Cherokee Plaza Kroger at 3871 Peachtree Road in Brookhaven, Walker added. That location is about two miles away from the Skye Hill locations.
Lily Pabian, executive director of We Love Buford Highway, said the community has expressed sadness about the closure of the store, which has been open for some 50 years.
“It’s conveniently located near places like Plaza Fiesta, so affordable necessities that our communities have become accustomed to getting at Kroger, is now going to be harder,” Pabian said. “The two nearest ones are set to close – this one and the one in the Lindberg area. It absolutely impacts food access for those in our communities who rely on neighborhood proximity in terms of transportation and convenience.”
Kroger did not respond to multiple requests for comment.