Bashas’ announced plans Monday to close another 14 grocery stores, including 10 in the Valley, following the closure of 10 such stores last month.
While the media have focused on the effect on grocery shoppers, this also is very bad news for some restaurants. In most cases, Bashas’ stores are the anchors of shopping centers that have eateries and other small businesses already battling the worst recession in the state’s history.
For example, last month’s closing of the Bashas’ at Ray and Cooper roads in Chandler left a huge, empty parking lot in front of Taiko Japanese Restaurant. A couple miles away, the newly targeted Bashas’ at McQueen and Pecos roads is the main neighbor of Venezia’s New York Style Pizza.
Perhaps most discouraging is Bashas’ plan to close the AJ’s Fine Foods at Alma School and Chandler Heights roads in south Chandler, leaving the fledging Cork, the southeast Valley’s finest restaurant, in a mostly empty shopping center.
It’s time for Valley developers to reconsider the wisdom of putting shopping centers anchored by a big-box retailer, home-improvement center or grocery store on every corner. When these anchors go out of business, the over-sized spaces often sit empty for years.
In the meantime, if a Bashas’ (or any other anchor store) goes out of business in your neighborhood, please don’t forget to support the worthwhile restaurants that are left in its wake.
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That’s very true Jess. Down here in the Ocotillo area we waited a long time for something more than pizza and fast food. Over the last five years or so we finally started to see some quality places come to fruition. The AJ’s is a great place to meet for coffee in the morning. While I admit to rarely doing any grocery shopping there (I don’t cook with many high-end items), I will miss the people and sense of community that was shared over a cup before dropping my daughter at school.