A food oasis suddenly dry as Pagedale grocer closes

In late March, Fields Foods opened its sixth location in Pagedale, Mo at 6840 Page Avenue. It was the company’s only location in St. Louis County. Less than five months after opening with much hoopla and hope, Fields Foods abruptly shut down the Page Avenue location with no notice to customers or the surrounding community.

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“We’re resilient…the challenge is finding the right operator and making it work.” – Chris Krehmeyer, CEO of Beyond Housing.

Signs of trouble like dissipating stock on grocery shelves at the Page store and other locations were signals of brewing distress.

Earlier this month, the St. Louis American reported that the company’s landlord at its DeBaliviere Avenue location filed a lawsuit for more than $44,000 in unpaid rent. Also, the landlord of the Fields’ Washington Avenue location had filed a lawsuit for nearly $293,000 in unpaid rent and $75,000 in unpaid taxes and maintenance expenses.

On July 31, Fields Foods closed its EXPO location near Forest Park. Weeks later, the grocery chain announced it was “temporarily” closing its Dogtown location. There are only two stores currently open; the Lafayette Square and Downtown St. Louis locations.

At the time of those closings, store owner, Chris Goodson, told KSDK’s “5 On Your Side” that employees had been laid off and stores had closed amid lawsuits over back rent and taxes. Goodson said he was trying to sell the franchise to an unidentified employee ownership group.

The Page Avenue location replaced the Save A Lot store that closed in 2021 after 11 years. That closing meant that residents, including those residing in a nearby senior citizen home, would have to travel miles for groceries or fresh food. 

The new Pagedale store joined an impressive roster of other businesses such as Midwest BankCentre, BJC HealthCare, 24:1 Cinema and Affinia Healthcare.

Kendra Holmes, President & CEO for Affinia expressed disappointment about the closing.

“It’s very unfortunate,” Holmes said, stressing the loss of healthy food in the surrounding neighborhoods. “Access to affordable nutritious foods is essential to the management of chronic diseases in the Black community. Food is medicine and we will continue to see diabetes and cardiovascular disparities in the Black community without access to affordable healthy foods.”

It’s somewhat painful recalling the fanfare and excitement of the Pagedale location’s grand opening just a few months ago. At the time, former Mayor Ernest “E.G.” Shields, Sr., (who resigned due to health issues in June) praised the new venture.

I’m just so grateful and so pleased,” Shields told the crowd before urging them and residents of nearby municipalities to support the new north county grocer.

“If we want the store to stay here, we must patronize it,” Shields said, adding: “Tell your family and friends and come back again, and again, and again.”

The opening of the Pagedale location was the result of collaborative efforts between the nonprofit, Beyond Housing and the 24:1 Municipal Partnership, a collaboration of nearby municipalities, including Pasadena Hills and Normandy. Beyond Housing was the landlord of the Fields Foods’ Pagedale location.

Chris Krehmeyer, CEO of Beyond Housing, said he wasn’t necessarily surprised by the store’s closing.

“I’ve been in close contact with them,” Krehmeyer explained. “We knew there were some challenges based on inventory, stocking and other matters. We knew something was wrong. So, it wasn’t a surprise…disappointing, yes, but not a surprise.”

When reminded that, in an interview with the American, Fields Foods’ owner, Goodson, gave assurances that the store would be well-stocked with reasonably priced items and that it would be a long-term community partner, Krehmeyer expressed frustration.

“Yeah, that’s what he (Goodson) told us, too, when we signed all the agreements,” Krehmeyer said. “We weren’t privy to all the details of that business but obviously something went awry and didn’t work.”

Speaking as a member of the 24:1 Municipal Partnership, Krehmeyer said there’s an equal amount of frustration and insult.

“Everybody’s disappointed, especially by a store that didn’t live up to its commitments. So, it’s like ‘No, you’re not going to disrespect this community’ and, quite frankly, we’re not going to tolerate it.”

Yet, Krehmeyer expressed optimism about finding a new grocer.

“Clearly, we’re frustrated, the community’s frustrated but we’re going to find someone else to come in and operate a grocery store. We know categorically, based on past sales of the Save A Lot store that there’s a market here. If you provide a good product at a good price with good customer services…people are going to spend their money.”

If another grocer steps in, Krehmeyer said they will walk into an optimal situation with a modernized, ready-to-operate store and an eager, wanting customer base.

“Just stock the shelves and they’re good to go.”

The bottom line seems to be that the 24:1 Municipal Partnership is not giving up on putting a grocery store in a food desert area of North St. Louis County.

“Oh my God, no,” Krehmeyer emphasized. “We’re outreaching to everybody and, at the end of the day, if it’s going to be a smaller, independent store, then so be it. I get the economic challenges of grocery stores, but communities deserve them.

“I’ve seen the numbers, right? We’re resilient and so are our communities,” Krehmeyer added. “We know they deserve a grocery store; we know they want a grocery store.

“So, our challenge is to find the right operator and make it work.”