Grocery tenant to fill Community Supermarket in Harrison will be 'a tough sell'

Local grocery guru Doug Sprankle predicts it will be a tough sell to replace the closing Community Supermarket in Harrison.

“It’s probably going to be near impossible,” said Sprankle, whose family owns supermarkets in Saxonburg, Leechburg and Kittanning. “The capital to open a business like that is insane. It’s a shame when we see independent stores go out.”

Community Supermarket on Tuesday announced its decision to close the location in Heights Plaza in Harrison’s Natrona Heights section. Owners Howard Rosenberg and George Thimons are eyeing an October closing but said their other stores in Penn Hills, Lower Burrell and Bloomfield will be unaffected.

The news follows a nationwide trend in the decline of independent groceries, according to the nonprofit Institute for Local Self Reliance.

Since 1982, the market share of independent retailers has fallen from 53% to 22%, according to the group’s website.

The decline is attributed to the convenience of online shopping and the one-stop shop experience of stores like Walmart and Target. Owners of independent grocery stores also are more likely to operate on slim profit margins that can’t quite cover the rising cost of operations, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service.

Sprankle’s opened its Saxonburg location in 2020 in the former Friedman’s, which shuttered two years before.

“The expense today is probably three to five times what it was five years ago,” Sprankle said. “Plus, when you have trained positions like deli managers and meat cutters that have gone to other jobs, it’s hard to get specialized people back.”

News of the closure came as a blow to Harrison Commissioner Gary Meanor.

He said the store has been a fixture in the community, playing a vital role in serving residents with fresh foods and essential goods.

“We are very disappointed,” he said.

Township officials are committed to supporting plaza managers Benbrooke Development in securing another grocery store, Meanor said.

Benbrooke asset manager Richard Lubkin earlier this year announced plans to revitalize the 70-year-old shopping center by demolishing part of it to make way for apartments.

As it stands, about 70% of the 360,000 square feet of commercial space is vacant. Big Lots and Subway were the most recent to leave.

Lubkin did not return calls for comment Friday.

Community Supermarket general manager George Sears blamed the closure in part on competition from Walmart, which sits about a mile up Freeport Road. Aldi also announced a move into Harrison about three years ago with plans to build on the site of the former Harbison Nursery, across the street from Walmart.

Township Manager Amy Rockwell said the company has been working with engineers on water and sewer connections in the past month. When asked whether Aldi could abandon its original plans in favor of targeting space at Heights Plaza, Rockwell said “they have not indicated to the township that they are scrapping any plans.”

She is waiting on an updated plan from Aldi leaders.

Kevin Ely, Aldi divisional vice president, said Friday he did not have any information to share on the new store.

“As soon as we have information regarding further Aldi expansion in the area, we will reach out,” Ely said by email.

Meanor said he and other township leaders are committed to working with Allegheny County officials to develop a solution for people without transportation. Many of the people who frequent Community Market live in the Allegheny County Housing Authority developments Harrison Hi-Rise and Sheldon Park.

They could find themselves without a viable option for grocery shopping once it closes. The route to Walmart would make a tough walk because of the lack of sidewalks, and the Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus route doesn’t stop at Walmart.

Housing Authority Executive Director Richard Stephenson did not return calls for comment.

“Harrison has been without regional transit for several years,” Meanor said. “Currently, only a commuter route remains in operation, and even that service is at risk of being discontinued.”