PEYTON NEELY The Marietta Times Julie Angeron, 30, cashier at Food 4 Less, scans products being purchased by Marietta resident George Broughton, 59, on Monday at the Marietta store.

Residents of Newport and Marietta will have to venture to other grocery stores after the announcement of store closings for Food 4 Less and Newport IGA.

After many years of serving residents of Washington County, both stores will be permanently closed within the next four to six weeks. Manager and co-owner of both locations, Bucky Lee, has announced that he will be retiring and so both sites will close their doors.

“I’ve had 52 wonderful years in this business and I don’t like to say it, but it’s time for me to be done,” he said.

Food 4 Less opened on Dec. 28, 1993, after Lee and Kin Brewer purchased a little more than four acres. Brewer said construction began in late 1992 after the front two acres were purchased from Apex True Value and the back two acres were purchased from the City of Marietta. Brewer currently owns the Food 4 Less building and said as of right now, there are no plans for what might fill the space.

“I’ve had people interested but that’s a whole different story,” he said. “Whenever Food 4 Less is moved out of here, we will put the building up for lease for anyone interested. I really hope someone makes use of the space.”

Newport IGA is owned by a company called E.A. Harris Company and also plans to put the building back up for lease. The IGA has been in operation for 46 years.

Newport residents are taking an ever harder hit losing IGA because that’s the only grocery store in the area. Newport Township Trustee William Bowersock, 78, said he is really shocked that the IGA is closing for good.

“I really hope somebody will move in there. The residents of Newport use that IGA all the time. Even elderly people will sometimes walk there to get groceries,” he said. “It’s really an unhandy situation because now all those people have to come into town.”

Jeff Lauer, 61, of Newport Township, said losing the Newport IGA will be hard on the Frontier Local school district because there’s a tax base there.

“It’s a convenient location for someone to stop and get bread or milk that they might have forgotten,” he said. “Now they’re going to have to go clear into town. It’s just really sad.”

Lee said the closures are difficult all the way around.

“We’ve had such wonderful employees and customers and I want to thank each and every one of them for their dedication all these years,” said Lee. “The landlord we have for IGA could not have been any better either. He kept that store going for so many years.”

Brewer said if a good tenant would be interested, he would definitely be able to work with them.

“Any business that will produce jobs would be a good addition to the community,” he said. “This is a building that can be very flexible.”

There is kitchen and refrigerator space in the 47,000-square-foot location. Brewer noted that the quality of the building is also good.

“There are concrete walls and floors. It’s also in a good space,” he said.

Brewer plans to concentrate his time now on Warren’s IGA on Muskingum Drive and Warren’s IGA Express in McConnelsville.

“We really just want to emphasize keeping our employees in everyone’s prayers,” said Lee.

Currently both locations employ nearly 50 people with 30 people at Food 4 Less and 17 at Newport’s IGA. Lee said someone will be coming in to help build resumes and offer more training to help make the transition into a new job easier.

The Marietta Food 4 Less is the last Food 4 Less location east of the Mississippi River. The next closest Food 4 Less is located outside of Chicago, said Lee and Brewer.

“It’s been a fantastic run. It’s always been about our customers and our employees, like having a good ball team,” said Lee.

Melanie Sandford, 49, is the deli manager at Food 4 Less. She’s been employed with the company for 32 years.

“I’ve worked with Bucky since I was right out of high school. We’re like family here and it’s going to be a really big change,” she said.

Sandford had tears building up in her eyes describing the close relationships she’s formed while working with the company.

“You know when I walk in here after being off all weekend, the people I work with ask me how my weekend was and you don’t hear that hardly at all anymore,” she said. “Bucky isn’t just a boss to me but like a dear friend. I’m just going to miss the people.”

Front office manager Mary Patterson, 62, has been with the company for 32 years. She had planned to retire in June but is still sad to see the business leave.

“Even when I announced my retirement, I told Bucky that I would still like to work a couple days to stay in the loop,” she said. “I’ll really miss all the people I work with.”

Julie Angeron, 30, of Marietta, has been employed for a little more than a year at Food 4 Less. She said she was surprised to hear about the business closing.

“I have twins, a boy and a girl, so I’ll probably take a little break and spend time with them,” she said.

Marietta resident and customer George Broughton, 59, said he noticed that the store began cutting all their prices a lot more than they usually do so the closing announcement wasn’t a shock.

“I’m still sad to see it go. Seeing any businesses go is always hard,” he said.

At a glance

¯ Food 4 Less in Marietta and Newport IGA will be permanently closed soon.

¯ Within the next four to six weeks, owners announced that the stores will be empty.

¯ Inventory reduction sales begin this Sunday.

¯ The stores currently employ just fewer than 50 people.

¯ No businesses have announced they will be filling the empty locations.

Source: Co-owners of Food 4 Less and Newport IGA, Bucky Lee and Kin Brewer.