CHARLOTTE — The owners of a West Coast grocery store pulled out of a proposed project in a north Charlotte food desert, leaving neighbors with no relief in sight.
Milton Hill has lived in the area for over 70 years. He told Channel 9’s Eli Brand how unhappy he was with the decision.
“It didn’t happen, so what are you going to do?” he said.
The new Spangler’s grocery store was supposed to open last year, according to the original plans, but now neighbors are back to square one.
“You have a lot of elderly people around here,” Hill said. “They either have to use Uber or whatever to go shopping.”
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In 2024, Mecklenburg County Commissioners approved $1.5 million to go towards helping Spangler’s develop along Statesville and Kohler Avenues in 2025.
Commissioner Mark Jerrell said the owners of Spangler’s pulled out for personal reasons.
For neighbors, like Hill, having fresh food nearby would make a huge difference.
“It would be nice to have a grocery store, a pharmacy, like a strip mall like everywhere else,” he said.
Jerrell says the dream is not dead yet. Commercial realtors Boundary Street worked for years to find a grocer for the spot, and Jerrell says they are back on the case hoping to get a new company to commit.
The $1.5 million approved for Spangler’s has been set to the side and is now ready for whoever that new grocer ends up being.
Jerrell says the hope is to secure a store for the area as soon as possible.
Late last year, a Sprouts Market did open in the NoDa neighborhood, about two miles away from the Statesville and Kohler Avenues area.
VIDEO: Sprouts’ opening aims to alleviate NoDa food desert
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