TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — South Tucson’s only full-service grocery store is still scheduled to close in October, but city officials say efforts are underway to address safety concerns and potentially attract a new grocer to take its place, if an agreement can't be reached to keep Food City.
The Food City at South Sixth Avenue and East 29th Street has seen a decline in customer traffic, which its corporate owner, Bashas’ Family of Stores, cited as the primary reason for its closure. The company previously told KGUN 9 that “changing shopping patterns” made the store “no longer sustainable.”
Filiberto Zepeda, a longtime South Tucson resident, said the closure would be a major loss for the community.
“I really feel bad about it, because it’s the only [grocery] store in South Tucson,” he said.
Zepeda attributed the decrease in foot traffic in part to increased visibility of the houseless population in the area.
“It’s becoming a sanctuary movement for people that are having problems with drugs,” he said. “And that’s a major problem.”
Republican congressional candidate Daniel Butierez, who is running in Arizona’s 7th Congressional District, called for stricter enforcement of existing laws.
“Possession of fentanyl is against the law but no one enforces it. Theft is against the law but no one enforces it,” he said. “We need to create a program that we hold these people accountable for their crimes.”
South Tucson Mayor Roxanna Valenzuela acknowledged the presence of criminal activity in the area, especially in the southern portion of the 1.2 square mile city around the Food City plaza.
“There is a lot of criminal activity that surrounds that area,” she said.
In response, Valenzuela said the city is preparing short-term actions to improve safety, including opening a South Tucson Police substation in the shopping plaza.
“What we are doing here in South Tucson short term is opening up a substation in that plaza,” Valenzuela said. “We want to make sure that we take the necessary steps so that the next business feels safe.”
The closure would leave South Tucson — an independent municipality with just over 4,500 residents and a poverty rate of nearly 50%, according to U.S. Census data — without a major grocery store.
Valenzuela said city officials remain committed to ensuring South Tucson residents continue to have access to groceries and other essential services.
According to the mayor, the new substation could be operational within the next week.
——
Eddie Celaya is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9. Born in Tucson and raised in the Phoenix area, Eddie is a life-long Arizonan and graduate of the University of Arizona who loves the desert and mountains and hates the cold. Previously, Eddie worked in print media at the Arizona Daily Star. Share your story ideas with Eddie at edward.celaya@kgun9.com, or by connecting on Facebook or Instagram.
----
STAY IN TOUCH WITH US ANYTIME, ANYWHERE
