BUFFALO, N.Y. — Tops Friendly Markets announced Thursday plans to reopen its Buffalo store by the end of July, following the mass shooting that killed 10 and injured three people on May 14.
The Tops Friendly Markets President John Persons said in a press conference on Wednesday, according to WKBW, that the store has been emptied entirely of the food, other products and equipment. The store will be completely remodeled before it reopens.
Persons stated that supply chain issues has led to some issues regarding equipment inventory, so there is no exact reopening date in July just yet. However, the company is hopes to narrow an exact date soon, according to WKBW. Persons also said that they were looking into relocating the store but it would have led to a multiple-year process rather than a couple of months. He said that any employees who are uncomfortable returning to the location can switch to another store.
On May 19, days after the shooting, Persons pledged to reopen the store as soon as possible for the community, according to Buffalo News. Residents were torn if the store should even reopen at all after the shooting, even among those who relied on that store specifically, according to NPR. Local organizations such as World Central Kitchen went down to the area to pass out food, hygiene products, cleaning supplies, and other items that the community purchased at the store. The Washington Post reported that neighborhood safety groups like the Peacemakers and Buffalo FATHERS (Fathers Armed Together Helping to Educate, Restore, and Save) also created a cookout.
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The suspect, Payton Gendron, 18, has been arraigned by a grand jury on a 25-count indictment and faces a life sentence without parole if he is found guilty, WKBW says. Some of his charges include domestic terrorism and hate crime, according to the AP.
The impact on the community
The Washington Post says the closure of the Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo, New York, has impacted the community greatly. Not only have residents been dealing with the aftermath of the shooting at the grocery store, including the loss of shoppers and employees, but they are also dealing with racism and the loss of a grocery store that the area depended on.
Buffalo’s East Side has been facing a food deficit since Tops closed. Local organizations stepped in to assist but the closure revealed that urban Black communities across the country are continuing to struggle, according to the Washington Post. They are facing issues of homeownership, urban renewal projects coming in, property values and low wages. The East Side has about four major grocery stores for 130,000 people. Tops, where the shooting happened, was the only major grocery store and pharmacy within Route 33, according to the Washington Post.
Before the shooting happened and closed down the grocery store, the Washington Post says the area was a “food desert,” which means it lacks convenient and affordable healthy food. Finding healthy food, such as fruits and vegetables, is very difficult and has led to increasing numbers of families facing hunger. The closure of the grocery store just made it that much more difficult.
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