When a big-box store moves out, it leaves potential space for local merchants to grow.
When a big-box store moves out, it leaves potential space for local merchants to grow.
Such is the case with the Save A Lot store, now gone from Harrington Square in Middlefield Village.
In its place, area shoppers will soon find Kurtz Discount Groceries, formerly known as Kurtz Salvage, which is relocating over the next few months from its former digs on dead end Shedd Road in Parkman Township.
Business owner David Kurtz said in a phone interview March 27 he doesn’t have an exact opening date, yet. At the time, he was hoping to get his equipment in within the week and to open this spring.
“This is a big step for us. It’s falling into place better than I thought,” said Kurtz, who has operated the salvage grocery store on his property for 17 years.
He is stepping up from about 3,500 square feet to about 10,000 square feet of retail space. The former grocery store space came along at the right time.
“I outgrew the one I have at home,” Kurtz said.
Kurtz Salvage sits on less than 4 acres, so, besides giving him more retail space, the new location will see more foot traffic, as well, he said.
Kurtz had been planning for some time to move and expand his business footprint.
Sensing that Save A Lot was fighting off bankruptcy, the mall owner made the first move.
“Dave Harrington talked to me about it about a year ago, before he died,” Kurtz said. “I was going to build (a store) at my warehouse, anyway.”
The offer was too good to pass up and Kurtz started planning to lease the space.
By last Thursday, equipment was being installed, but there is a long way to go before he can provide low-priced groceries to the public, he said.
Kurtz has about 20 employees at the salvage store, including a son, two daughters and a son-in-law, he said, adding he will need more workers in the larger store with increased inventory.
He also has years of experience and contacts in the grocery salvage world he hopes will provide a broad spectrum of groceries, including frozen and fresh produce.
“We’ll sell pretty much whatever I can get ahold of — whatever I can find on the secondary market,” Kurtz said, adding he wants to find local fresh fruits and vegetables when they are in season.
“That’s still in the works,” he said. “(It depends on) if I can find the right people to get it in here.”
Shedd Road, in the middle of the Amish community, drew customers from everywhere.
“We have more non-Amish than Amish customers,” he said, adding his Amish clientele increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kurtz estimated up to half his traffic is Amish, now, but the numbers are not something he is concerned about.
“I’ve never kept track of that. We’re there to help people,” he said.
Middlefield Village Zoning Inspector John Boksansky joined the conversation to explain Save A Lot had closed its stores across the U.S. For a few months, the company ran the operation as Sunshine Stores, but it folded last year.
According to the GB Times article in April 2024, the discount grocery chain had more than 1,300 stores in 36 states. It was founded in 1982 to offer affordable meats, produce and other essential food items, catering to budget-conscious customers.
Save A Lot’s financial problems date back to 2020, when bankruptcy first appeared on the horizon, according to a Wall Street Journal article that ran Jan. 3, 2020. The article reported the corporation was $400 million in debt and was attempting to restructure its debt rather than going to bankruptcy court.
Kurtz, his family and employees, consider the open space an opportunity to grow and help the community.
“We’re all excited about it,” he said.
