LAKE MARY, Fla. — Small business owners were worried about their bottom lines Friday after Lucky’s Market announced this week the closing of all but one of its Florida locations.
- Plaza businesses worried after Lucky's Market shuttering stores
- Some Lucky's stores, like one in Lake Mary, were under construction
- JJ's Fusion Grille worker says they were hoping for foot traffic
- RELATED: Lucky's Market to Close Florida Stores
That includes a Lake Mary store that was just weeks from opening.
That future Lucky’s location in the growing Griffin Farm-area shopping plaza off Lake Mary Boulevard was intended to be an anchor store that business owners hoped would help bring in customers.
JJ’s Fusion Grille just opened up its third Central Florida location in that shopping center.
Employee Nicole Burbano says they’re still trying to get the word out to people in Lake Mary about what they’re serving.
“We’re trying to expand, so with us reaching out to Lake Mary, we have a lot of people that don’t know about us here,” Burbano said.
She was hoping Lucky’s Market opening nearby would go a long way in bringing in customers.
“We were expecting it to bring in a lot more foot traffic — people walking into this plaza to get their groceries,” Burbano said.
The grocery chain announced it's closing all of its Florida stores except a location in West Melbourne in Brevard County.
Lucky’s said its closing the stores after exploring multiple alternatives as part of a restructuring effort within the company. The closures come a month after another grocery chain Kroger said it was pulling its investment in Lucky’s Market.
Now, Burbano worries business at JJ’s will suffer. The big question now is for how long.
“It not only affects us, but it affects all of the other businesses here in the plaza, the people that live around here,” she said. “So we’re just hoping that there’s quick turnover, that someone else moves in and fills up that spot so that way the plaza’s filled and it draws in those people.”
It’s unclear right now what will happen with the soon-to-be-empty Lucky’s Market locations. The ones that were in operation are expected to close by mid-February.
We reached out to Lucky’s Market again to find out more about what led to the closures but haven't heard back.