Shoppers walk out of Western Avenue Kroger for the last time with savings and memories

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The doors at two local grocery stores are now closed for good.

The Kroger off Western Avenue in South Bend and the Kroger on Johnson Street in Elkhart both closed Monday due to business performance, according to a letter that management sent out last month.

The closures happened a bit earlier than initially anticipated, about two weeks early.

Kroger managers told ABC57 the inventory was so low at both stores that there weren't enough items on the shelves to keep the doors open.

Shoppers described the empty aisles like a scene from a zombie apocalypse movie.

One father/daughter duo walked out of the neighborhood Kroger Monday with a receipt taller than them: showing savings of nearly $1,000. They paid just over $120 for 230 items.

"These were like thirty-some dollars originally, the soda stream things; we got them for like three dollars," says shopper Cameron Rogers.

They say a 90% discount was too good to pass up.

"You could get a gallon of, only 1%, but it was still like 15 cents for a gallon of milk," says another shopper, Denisa Lynk.

Now these shoppers will have to pay the cost of losing their neighborhood grocery store.

'I'd much rather have my Kroger around than get this kind of deal," says Shawn Rogers, shopping at Kroger with his daughter.

"There's always been a Kroger's here for as long as I can remember, so that's really hard," Lynk says.

Lynk worries for her neighbors who relied on the accessibility of the Kroger.

"There are people that walk here that are now not going to be able to come and need a ride to go shopping or something, so I'm just sad for the neighborhood," Lynk explains.

Even though there is a Martin's Supermarket less than a mile away, shoppers say Kroger's prices were just too good to beat.

"I'm still going to go to Kroger, I just got to go to either Town and Country or the southside now," Rogers says.

It was a bittersweet moment for shoppers seeing the empty aisles and familiar faces at the register one last time.

"I got to say goodbye to the few employees I kind of made friends with over the years," says Rogers.

The fond memories will stick around, though.

"We would come here, we would leave campus and come here at like midnight because it was open 24 hours, and we'd come and go shopping really quick and get something," remembers Lynk.

Members of the South Bend Common Council have expressed their concern about the closure of the Kroger, writing in part:

"The closure is a direct hit to the health and quality of life of West Side residents. We are deeply concerned about the lack of food options and affordability of food that can impact the budget of West side residents.

While the Council understands it cannot reverse corporate decisions made by Kroger at the national level, members extend their sincere gratitude to the employees who have faithfully served the community over the years."

A manager tells ABC57 any items left over will be donated to the Food Bank of Northern Indiana.