New Kensington Shop 'n Save to close at the end of April

A family-run Shop ’n Save in New Kensington is closing after about a decade in the city.

The grocery store in the Central City Plaza will close its doors for good April 30.

Co-owner Lauren Beter of New Kensington said the move is due to decreased sales the past few years, and not because of the covid-19 pandemic.

“It’s bittersweet because it’s not something that we necessarily wanted to do,” she said. “It wasn’t the path we started down on, but we weren’t able to make it work. Our lease is coming up, and we wrestled with renewing it for five years and couldn’t take the chance. It has nothing to do with the coronavirus. It’s just an awful coincidence.”

She said big box retailers like Walmart and other competitors have made it a very expensive challenge for mom-and-pop shops.

The New Kensington grocer was previously owned by Beter’s parents, Thomas and Elizabeth Beter of Lower Burrell.

Lauren and her brother, Elliot Beter, took ownership of it about five years ago.

The family also has a location in West Deer, which is not closing.

The pending shutdown impacts about 15 employees. It’s unclear where they may end up.

Store employees and customers approached declined to comment on the closure.

“It actually breaks my heart that we have to close,” Beter said. “I know there will be a lot of people that will be upset. We have a lot of walk-in customers. We love our customers, and I was born and raised in this area.

“We’ve been very lucky to have such nice staff and customers.”

Their lease is up at the end of May. The family plans to have a fixture sale by appointment sometime during that month.

“At the moment we’re not considering any new plans given everything that’s going on the world right now,” Beter said. “I think we’re going to hit the pause button for awhile.”