Daniel Prince
Store set to close Friday; online petition circulates to try and save it
Multiple media outlets are reporting that the town of Whitmire will lose its only grocery store after this Friday. The Piggly Wiggly store, located just across the Newberry County line in Whitmire, is set to close its doors for good this Friday. It is the only full-service grocery store in the community. The closing came as a surprise and shock to local residents. The owner of the store said the property owner informed him of a deal to sell the property and that the grocery store needed to leave.
Town council members and citizens are scrambling to figure out what to do next. Council has no authority over the store to keep it open, and area nonprofit agencies are putting their heads together to see if they can help needy residents after the closure. Whitmire Town Council chairman Todd Johnson was quoted as saying the local government is working to recruit a new grocery store to the area and is hopeful that Newberry County’s growth will aid in that effort.
A petition to save the store is circulating on the website change.org. It was started by another Town Council member, Michael Thomas. The petition has garnered 1310 signatures so far.
The store closing will also affect some Union County citizens who use the store. A portion of the Whitmire community is in Union County, and some Carlisle residents and others in the southern portion of the county go there to shop, as well. The nearest grocery store is about 25 minutes away, in either Union, Newberry, or Clinton.