The city of Youngstown may be gaining three Bottom Dollar Food stores in the next few weeks, but a longtime grocery staple on the West Side will close Feb. 13.
Sparkle Market at the corner of Belle Vista and Mahoning Avenue will downsize from a full-scale grocery store and become more of a convenience store no longer bearing the Sparkle name, according to a spokesman for the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 880. The store has been at that location since 1960.
The union spokesman said the union was notified of the change by the store owner. The store employs 27 people and the UFCW will be entering into discussions with the owner to review the contractual rights and entitlements of the members who work in the store.
At this point, it does appear that some employees will be permanently laid off, but the union does not yet know the number. Some members of the local union will continue working for the owner in the new convenience store format, the spokesman said.
Because each Sparkle Market is independently owned and operated, the union contract only covers employees at the West Side location, so employees have no right to transfer to another location. However, the union spokesman said Local 880 will do its best to place experienced members in other area Sparkle stores.
Bottom Dollar Foods will open locations in the Mahoning Plaza, at 890 E. Midlothian Blvd. and at 2649 Glenwood Ave. on Feb. 9. Local 880 has informational pickets at the Midlothian location advising the public that Bottom Dollar is a non-union operation.
Bottom Dollar currently has 29 stores in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The Youngstown locations will be the first in Ohio.
This is bad news for me. I often took the bus to this Sparkle Market.
There is no direct bus service from my neighborhood to the Bottom-Dollar Store.
Bad news for me too. I had heard about this earlier this week, but didn't realize they would be closing so soon.
THIS IS JUST A RUMOR, but I heard that Bottom Dollar orchestrated some kind of financial agreement with the owner of this Sparkle, to minimize competition with their new store.
Bottom Dollar is a FOREIGN company based in Belgem. How many of the products that they will be peddling are MADE IN AMERICA? When shopping at Save-A-Lot at least they handel MADE IN AMERICA products. By the way, the Union Square Save-A-Lot has an IN HOUSE butcher, their meat is really good and they have 5 packages of meat for $20.00 specials. You can't beat that. I can get a whole month's meals out of them.
towntalk i appreciate the info about save a lot's in house butcher. i shop at either rulli's or catullo's for my fresh meats. i now have an option for three in store butchers in town. is there any other ytown stores that have in store butchers. :D
In my advanced years, and state of health I am not fortunate to get out much, and see just what is available like some folks, and am only familiar with Giant Eagle and Save-A-Lot. As far as Walmart's grocery department is concerned I can't speak to that. I do know that over the years I got to know one of the butchers at Giant Eagle, like myself an old timer who in his younger years had his own butcher shop ... the man is in his early 80's and still working, and he's gotten to know what I like in the way of meat, and will prepare special cuts for me. Also I usually order $20.00 worth of ground chuck at a time, and he gets it within a couple of pennies of the $20.00 either over or under, and the meat department at Giant Eagle usually has a buy one get one free that allows me to get enough for six meals, so between Save-A-Lot and Giant Eagle, I can fill the freezer section of my frig with meat.
My biggest gripe with all the stores including Giant Eagle and Save-A-Lot is the outrageous prices of hot dogs and bacon. My favorite Sunday breakfast is bacon, eggs, toast, coffee and a glass of orange juice, but with the price of bacon, I can only have it when there is a sale.
Save-A-Lot has Sugerdale Bacon packaged in three pound packages for a reasonable price so I get that and repackage it so that I can split it to get enough for four meals ... enough to get me through the month and freeze most of it.
I sure hope that Mahoning Avenue doesn't end up like South Avenue.
:(
I doubt that Mahoning Avenue will become another South Avenue which is a killing zone. When I lived on Halls Heights as a high school student back in the early 1950's, Mahoning had a good variety of stores, two theaters and several churches as well as several gas stations. Today I live on Elm Street and have lived here for 30 years, and the same can be said for Elm that is happening on Mahoning, but Elm is no war zone, and in point of face, thanks to YSU, museums and a major concert hall it's a center of culture. I'm in walking distence of two libraries, two art galleries, Stambaugh Auditorium, three museums, and as I said before, I have a grocery store across the street from me, and while it's small, it has all the essencials I neen between my monthly trips to Giant Eagle and Save-a-Lot.
The electronic sign on the outside of the building lists all items 10% off retail price.
In fairness to the great residents of the South Side -I being one of them--We are really trying to better South Ave...We have had some bad times on that stretch of the road, but the neighbors and blockwatch groups are really trying to make it a safe and nice area..Cleaning up that corrider has been what all the neighborhood groups want...It really is only a few eyesores that cause all the problems and we cannot seem to get rid of them--but we are trying.... 8)
Blvd.,
I've seen this happen of the south side and now it's starting to happen on the west side. The corridors decline when our city's residents refuse to patronize our own local neighborhood businesses.
what happen to the SANDIE Project? was not that supposed to stop the further downfall of the ss on south ave? ???
The SANDIE Project is in part a clean up--I think that will start up soon--I also believe we have a 7th Ward gal trying to get coffee shop up and running on South Ave in the near future--
i like the idea of a coffee shop. :)
The grocery items at the Sparkle Market were 25% off today.
This Sparkle Market is now closed.
:( I didn't urgently need anything from there. But I thought I heard they were closing on the 13th?
I was in the convenience store this week. They only sell beer, wine, pop, chips, cigarettes, lottery tickets, and money orders. Most of the ceiling lights have been turned off. Yellow tape blocks off the grocery area of the former Sparkle Store. The convenience store is not very inviting.
Why would some blame fool lease a building that big for such a limited stock? It just doesn't make sense. The heating bill would take a big bite out of the profits.
What are they calling this fool hearty venture?
Maybe the building will be subdivided for other purposes.
That's possable. When Save-A-Lot took over the Union Square Sparkle a portion was subdivided to be a liquor store. Since Save-A-Lot doesn't sell booze it might be for another business that hasn't opened yet.