FORT SCOTT, Kan. (January 7, 2019) – Price Chopper will be closing its doors in Fort Scott, KS.
“It’s with a heavy heart that we announce our Fort Scott store will be closing”, said Barry Queen, Price Chopper owner. “We built what we believed the community wanted; a state-of-the-art store with superior quality fresh foods, selection and customer service. Neither myself, our valued and dedicated employees, the city, nor our loyal customers are to be blamed. Unfortunately, the business necessary to support store expenses simply wasn’t there.”
We want to thank our Fort Scott customers, employees and the business community for doing their best. We do not take this decision lightly and will work with our employees by either providing them jobs in our other locations or helping them find new positions in the community.
Additional details, starting January 9:
- All merchandise will be marked 33% off regular price
- Store hours will be 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily until merchandise is liquidated
ABOUT PRICE CHOPPER
Price Chopper’s 53 grocery stores are locally owned by the Ball, Cosentino, McKeever, and Queen families, who oversee store operations on a daily basis. For 39 years, the owners and employees of Price Chopper have been committed to providing the highest quality products and top-of-the-line customer service to the thousands of customers they serve every day. For more information, please visit www.mypricechopper.com.
how awful- sorry but we need something other than woods and Walmart-
I wish there was a woods
We had a Woods. That’s what was in the PC building originally.
Originally I think it was Consumers
Originally it was a Consumers and when they went out then Woods to it over.
We HAD a Woods. That’s the building PC remodeled. It couldn’t make it here either.
We need something like aldis. I know MANY people who drive to Pittsburg just to shop there.
There was an Aldi’s in Nevada several years back. They didn’t stay more than a couple of years.
WHAT!! They just opened!!!!! Great store, great prices and I love shopping and eating there.
Enjoyed shopping at your store and hate to see it close.
Bummer I love the store.
So sorry and shocked to hear the store is closing. I drive from Nevada to shop there. Will miss the fabulous salad bar, good sales and the friendly employees.
Was just there yesterday. This is tragic. Such a beautiful store, with excellent customer service.
Good luck to all involved.
It really a tragedy because we’re only have g&w and walmarts.There are going to be a lot of people going out of town to shop.What we need is a aldi’s
I agree we need an aldis
Put it in Butler Mo, We don’t have a grocery store !!
And a few empty buildings !!
Definitely agree! Butler needs a good grocery store! But, if memory serves, I think there was a PC there several years back, and they closed the doors after only a year or two.
Freaking Walmart [the corporafascists, I call them] has once again made it impossible to compete in smaller towns. This is awful!
Sad to see another business go out… Wish it would of made it through this tough time.
Reality is too many still shopped out of town or at walmart. Kudos to those who supported PC but for those who didn’t, you got what you asked for. Keep it up and see what you lose next
It’s difficult to support a store on a regular basis that charges $1.50 more for the exact same loaf of Pepperidge Farm bread as Walmart. Many residents are on tight budgets. Some of us do shop at PC as we can but also have to buy a lot of our items at Walmart.
I would have gone to Dollar General over Walmart, if price was that much of a problem … or even Dollar Tree, where everything really IS a dollar each.
This store closing is just one more example of Walmart [the corporafascists, as I call them] underpricing the competition to drive them out of town. They hate competition. So I hate them.
Losing another Price Chopper is such a sad thing! They always have fresher produce and better quality than Walmart ever could.
Shopping outside of Fort Scott allows for better selections, better pricing, less tax, and the opportunities to have a nice lunch or go shopping for other goods. Aside from Wal-Mart there is no real shopping in this town. PC was a beautiful store, too bad it was over pricing everything. I’m willing to pay a little more (5-10%) to shop in a clean store, but I’m not willing to pay 25-35%. Plus the crazy Fort Scott sales tax on top of it. Hate to see it go, but I shop in Joplin and Overland Park mostly anyway. Nicer stores, way better selection, just an overall better shopping experience…
I will sure miss this store.I drove from Nevada to shop there and hit Aunt Toadies either comming or going.So now another place loses business too.There’s no reason to go to Ft Scott now.How terrible for this town.
Sad, we would drive from Nevada to shop there. It was a really nice store.
It is indeed a terrible thing to happen. Now the only other two places in town can charge what they want and we will have to shop there or go out of town. This town needs to do something to get business’s in town and keep them. A Aldis store or something like it. We lost our hospital and now Price Chopper. What will be next.
Very sad to read of loss if a real grocery store…but really sad to read of loss of Mercy Hospital. .when/ why..it was a great hospital and nursing education facility
My Grandfather passed away there 54 years ago this month.
Spent a lot of time in Ft Scott when young..Great town great people.
I hate to hear that, been our main store since it opened.
My family and I will miss it . It was a great place to shop friendly staff, fair prices, and great quality merchandise. It will be missed
Anyone know how many dollars in bonds we Bourbon county taxpayers are obligated to over this failed project? How much of our taxpayer dollars have already been spent on this? Hundreds of thousands? millions? I’m pretty sure the answer is not zero. I don’t know, and maybe the answer is zero, but I think the public deserves to know either way.
I hope Fort Scott Biz follows up with this information.
So sad to see Price Chopper close it’s doors here in Fort Scott! It was such a clean store with great weekly sales. The customer service was excellent…..it seemed like the store was just the thing that Fort Scott needed.
Loved their bakery and deli and dunken doughnuts coffee. So sad gonna cry real tears
So sad to see Price Chopper go
Put it in pleasanton ,,,,we have nothing except one grocery store an Caseys
Have you forgotten that price chopper owned our store a few years ago and everybody hated it because they shot the prices way up? Price chopper may have some good sales but they did that to keep people coming in…and a store can’t survive on sale prices. Obviously. The store in our little town actually has some great prices and products if you would do some comparison. Bringing in a price chopper would literally kill the entire town….
Price chopper owned the Pleasanton store a few years back, same family, same results. They price too high and they werent invested in the small town. When you dont know your customers, you dont know what they want/need.
I agree.. This is sad we visit that store 3 times a week for the great sales and produce meat was priced right with quality cant beat the customer service too.. So sad to see it go not understanding the statement that there wasn’t enough biz to keep the doors open…any biz major student knows that a new biz has to tough out the first year to 18 mos b4 seeing productive numbers… God bless tho and good luck
I am so sorry to see this store close. We shop here several times a week and my son gets me the most beautiful flower arrangements from here. I also really enjoyed having lunch there. So very sad, wish they would reconsider or we could find something similar to come in.
How sad! For years I lived in K.C. & shopped Price Chopper there…breaks my heart!
I feel for those who work there. I am glad that they are trying to help you guys get other jobs though. But honestly what we need in this town is an Aldi.
So sad this wonderful store is closing. Used to live near KC & always shopped PC because of the great produce & product selections. Live in Nevada & was thrilled when PC opened in Fort Scott! Surprised the community economy cannot support such a great addition to it.
I hate to see it close. I always stop there after getting cancer treatments at the hospital. First the hospital now the grocery store. Not good. Love the Price Chopper brands.
I love the fresh foods and great prices. I guess I’ll be going back to the Louisburg location as its the closest one. Great customer service and Quality you can’t get anywhere else near here!
An Aldi would be GREAT! !! PC had great sales but otherwise I thought the prices were high. Just my opinion.
Great place for early breakfast and coffee, all my buddies will really miss the place. Now to find something else, not much to pick from in old Fort Scott.
I agree with the other customers that said Fort Scott needs Aldis. G & W needs a larger building. Sorry, that the hospital is closing and now Price chopper. The city fathers better get on top this problem, with the high taxes in Kansas and Fort Scott this could really cause some big problems, for the good people of Fort Scott, if they have leave the town for new jobs.
I like Savers, which is the old G&W store.
Sorry to hear you are closing. I have been traveling from La Cygne quite often, just to shop at your Fort Scott store. Will have to find another place to shop now.
Ruth, there is still a PC in Louisburg, straight up north on 69, right at the exit, on the left at the first light. You could go there. Might even be a bit closer from LaCygne.
Thats really too bad. We live in Linn County and have started grocery shopping in Fort Scott again since Price Chopper opened. You could always depend on fresh produce and a great selection of brands and sale items. We will miss this very nice store and the friendly staff. Thank you Queens for giving it a chance.
Will they actually help the employees find employment or give them severance packages…time will tell. I hope they follow through and not just be words that sound good for an article.
How much was the industrial revenue bond for price chopper ?
I am so bummed out about this. I’m actually from Pittsburg and drive TO Fort Scott to shop at price chopper! I find their prices, quality and selection fantastic. 🙁
We are saddened by the closing of this wonderful store! We enjoyed shopping there and loved the cleanliness, wide aisles, and helpful staff.
This seems like another in a long line of losses for the community. Perhaps these are signs of serious decline and that’s even more concerning.
I wish the store owners and all the employees the very best, even as we mourn this loss. Dunkin’ Donuts – with their wonderful coffee and GLUTEN FREE BROWNIES will be missed as well.
The problem was simple…….Prices at Price Chopper are just too high. I can afford to shop anywhere I want, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to pay $6 for a $4 item day in and day out. $21,000,000.00 remodel to turn an existing grocery store, into a new grocery store. It never penciled from the begining.
Perhaps the city can spend another 10-15million and turn it into low income housing or a day care center…….
I’ve no idea what products you thought were that drastically overpriced, because I’ve never seen anything that overpriced. If price is that big of a deal to you, why not shop at Dollar General, or even Dollar Tree?
This Price Chopper was well designed, with wide aisles, and had a great variety of products at good prices. I never saw anything that overpriced. Then again, I refuse to shop at the hometown-store-killers Walmart [corporafascists, I call them], so that may have something to do with it. *shrug* I just don’t support what they do to towns.
Wonderful salad bar and deli. Will be missed.
This is a terrible loss. This store was well designed, with wide aisles, and an excellent layout. They had the freshest and best produce for dozens of miles around, and excellent sales, as well as good prices for everything else. A great flower shop and donut shop were excellent pluses, too. And now it will be gone.
Fort Scott seems to be trying to dry up and blow away like so many towns did back in the early 1900s. The hospital, now the only decent place for groceries, gone with the wind. What next? The hardware stores? The gas stations? Such a shame!
I don’t know what the *underlying* problem is, whether it’s political, due to some sort of shady dealings on behalf of the people running the town, or what is going on. I do know that, if you want your town to survive, you should be closely examining your town leadership.
I don’t live in town (20 miles away, in fact), so I can’t exactly do any digging myself. But I’d suggest every single one of the town’s inhabitants turn up at the next town hall meeting, or maybe just show up at the courthouse, and start demanding some answers.
I am grieving the loss of both the Hospital and Price Chopper. Fort Scott has declined so much since I grew up here in the 60’s before Western Insurance left years ago and Wal Mart moved in!! It has never recovered to the standards it had when I was growing up. So many once beautiful houses have deteriorated to where my heart is saddened when I drive around town. I Also remember the bustling downtown where there are now mostly empty buildings.. I don’t know the answer and I am not playing the blame game either… I just want to express my grief at the loss of a bygone era…
That’s the problem – “a bygone era.” Small towns face almost insurmountable odds of survival now, for many reasons. There is very little incentive for young people to stay in a town where they are almost certainly not going to secure gainful employment that will provide for them in the way that urban areas will.
Culturally, things have shifted in our world and areas need to keep up in order to compete. It’s quite clear that Fort Scott hasn’t kept up, and there are many people who no longer feel like they can be a part of their own hometowns. Fort Scott was a happy place to grow up, but now when I visit the blight is apparent. It’s sad, but I have faith that the residents can impact successful change.
Hey we got a ‘NEW’ jail!!!
And new ‘STOP’ signs downtown!!!
“will work with our employees by either providing them jobs in our other locations or helping them find new positions in the community” The employees were offered jobs with an hour commute at the least. The pay was not enough to cover the extra gas. And some of these people have two jobs already and can’t spend an extra hour on the road or else be late for the second job. There is no help finding work in Fort Scott. They are on their own trying to find new jobs.