Lunds & Byerlys Pulling Out of Downtown St. Paul
Lunds & Byerlys is shuttering a store in downtown St. Paul, Minn., in its hometown Twin Cities market. The Midwest grocer updated customers on its social media pages, noting that the decision was “difficult, yet necessary.”
The Lunds & Byerlys outpost at 115 East 10th Street will cease operations at the end of the business day on March 26. Another St. Paul store at the Highland Bridge development will continue to serve shoppers.
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The family-owned retailer went into more detail on its website, citing issues that have plagued other supermarkets operating in metro areas, such as inflation and reduced foot traffic.
“From a financial perspective, the store’s operating costs continue to far outpace sales, which has made it no longer financially sustainable to remain open. Key contributing factors have included declining store visits, spurred, in part, by a significant shift to remote work for many downtown businesses and organizations, and a significant increase in store security costs to ensure a safe experience for our team members and customers,” company representatives explained in a statement.
They were also candid about crime in the neighborhood, noting that although the city has stepped up efforts to tamp down problems, there was a lingering effect on the business. Recruitment and retention became more difficult due to incidents shoplifting and vandalism. In 2022, this location was set ablaze by an arsonist, and the retailer had to invest in costly repairs.
President and CEO Tres Lund expressed gratitude to longtime supporters. “We deeply admire St. Paul as evidenced by our more than four decades of serving this community, starting with our Highland Park store in 1983 and Downtown St. Paul in 2014,” Lund declared. “While we had hoped for a different outcome for our downtown store, we remain optimistic the fabric of St. Paul, including its downtown community, will become even stronger with more of the workforce returning to downtown businesses and government offices along with a continued strengthening of the city’s public safety efforts and policies that are designed to attract further development to grow downtown’s population.”
Backing up that declaration, Lunds & Byerlys announced that it is teaming up with city officials and its property owner to keep the store’s equipment and infrastructure in place to maintain “an optimal environment for a future grocery store.”
The family-owned grocer operates more than 25 locations throughout Minneapolis, St. Paul and the surrounding region.
