Despite constant search, Scott City still lacking grocery store

Scott City officials continue to look for solutions after a year and a half without a grocery store.

Dustin Whitworth

The problem, city administrator Dustin Whitworth said, is they've exhausted just about every option.

"I'm a hometown boy. I live here. It would benefit me just as much. I want a grocery store, the question is where to put a grocery store," Whitworth said.

Scott City had previously been home to Bob's Foodliner, which operated under various names for more than 50 years.

That store shut its doors in late 2022.

"I immediately went down and talked to the owner of Bob's Foodliner and asked him why he was shutting down," Whitworth said. "... His reasoning was it was just hard to keep employees and he just felt like now was the time."

An individual from Sikeston was interested in buying the 2100 Main St. location, but when told he would have to buy it at auction, he backed out of the deal.

Scott City Mayor Norman Brant and the City Council dispatched Whitworth to approach chains such as ALDI, Dollar General, Food Giant, Harps, Price Cutter and Save A Lot about opening a franchise in Scott City.

Each of them had one requirement the city couldn't fulfill: a building on Main Street with at least 12,000 to 15,000 square feet for the store.

"We just don't have a building like that," Whitworth said. The building Bob's Foodliner occupied is only around 8,000 square feet.

Furthermore, most grocery chains didn't think Scott City had the population to support its own grocery, even though Whitworth said the store would draw in customers from nearby towns such as Commerce and Kelso.

"What I hear from all the people I talk to is demographically we have a Super Walmart (in Cape Girardeau) 8 miles away. The people that are not from here feel like 8 miles is not very far to drive for a grocery store," he said.

No store representatives wanted a location south of the railroad or off of Main Street.

Harps Food Stores seemed the most interested in Scott City, even sending people to count cars for a demographic survey. They said the city could sustain a grocery store, but again, there was no location to build one.

Whitworth didn't want any existing business to close to make room for a grocery store, and property owners were not interested in selling.

In the summer of 2023, there was some talk of surplus grocery store Dents Make Cents in Jackson relocating to Scott City.

The Scott City mayor and City Council were willing to help the process along, but that store's owner decided not to move.

Other chains didn't want to open a store in the city for fear they'd take business away from their nearby franchises.

A building the size of Bob's Foodliner would be good for a small-town grocery, Whitworth said. Existing multi-store franchises simply aren't interested in it because of its size.

Though no grocery store has shown interest in using the 2100 Main St. space, it did not remain empty for long. In August, a gym called Kopion Fitness opened in the location.

Whitworth called it a phenomenal facility that plenty of residents make use of.

"(The owner) took that store, remodeled it, and it's a great facility," he said.

Whitworth said Brant and City Council members have been extremely proactive ever since Bob's Foodliner closed in bringing a new grocery store to Scott City. It simply hasn't happened.

"If anybody has any leads, come and sit down with me. I would exhaust every lead to get a grocery store in here," he added.

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