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“You go in there and you see a whole lot of people that you know. It’s a place you stand and talk to your neighbors. That’s why we like it,” said Ken Groves, a regular shopper at the Gassaway Kroger.
But now, the fate of the store is once again in jeopardy, as it is one of the 60 stores across the country that the company
On Wednesday, around 60 Kroger employees and community members gathered to protest the store’s looming closure.
Heather Massey has been working as an office manager and cashier at Kroger for the past four years. She said that the past few weeks since Kroger announced that the Gassaway store would be closing have been difficult.
“These past few weeks since corporate came in and told us we were shutting down have been depressing. You know, this is a community, we’re all family that work here. I mean, we don’t see each other as co-workers; we see each other as family. When somebody hurts, we all hurt,” said Massey.
This is the second time in recent years the store has been threatened with closure.
Former West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin worked with Kroger executives to stop the Gassaway Kroger from closing in 2022 and says he’s thankful that this time Kroger is offering to protect their jobs by allowing Gassaway employees to transfer to other stores.
However, not every employee can afford to take that offer.
The Gassaway Kroger employees are members of the United Food & Commercial Workers Local 400 Union. While all the employees were offered jobs at different Kroger locations, the closest one to Gassaway is a 45-minute drive away. This doesn’t work for employees like Massey.
“I can’t. I lost my dad, I have my mom, and she has cancer, so I have to take care of her. I have kids, and I just can’t do that,” said Massey.
Doug Hamrick, the Drug GM Lead at Kroger and a leader in the UFCW Local 400 union, said that he’s nearing retirement. He’s going to have to make that nearly hour-long commute so he doesn’t lose his benefits.
“Well, a lot of us have over 20 years, I have 44 years. I’ve got three and a half years until retirement, so I need to make the drive. A lot have to quit because they can’t afford it, and they don’t have good transportation. They’ll have to find new jobs,” said Hamrick.
The Gassaway Kroger is one of only two major grocery stores in Braxton County. Employees said that they even get business from surrounding counties, like Clay County. Without a nearby grocery store, many of their regular customers are struggling to find a new place to buy their basic necessities.
“Well, let’s see, we got Buckhannon, we got Bridgeport, or we got Elkview. Elkview is 50 miles down the road, Buckhannon is 40 miles away, and Bridgeport is 60 miles away. So, where do we go now?” said Groves.
More than 1,700 employees and concerned community members signed a petition demanding the Kroger stay open and turned it in to management.
Kroger is the largest employer in the town of Gassaway, and beyond the negative economic impact that will come with its closure, Hamrick says the town will also lose a community hub.
“There’s people that come just to visit. They might not buy anything, they just walk around and visit. It’s a community center. It’s a good place for people to be, it’s a safe place for people to be, they gather here,” said Hamrick.
If the petition and protest aren’t enough to keep the Gassaway Kroger open, the store will close for good on Aug. 22.
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