It looks like Jennifer Thompson was either mistaken or full of crap.
Let’s start it off with the original SouthsideCentral story: Danville’s Harris Teeter not closing.
Well, that was horsecrap, eh?
Danville’s Harris Teeter to close by end of March
It’s a shame. The store was pretty much abandoned by the corporate office’s mindset, having been stuck in the 1980’s while the rest of the HT stores continued to remodel and market to a demographic that Danville wasn’t even close to matching. The 30 remaining employees will be “offered a position within the company”, but that means a 40 mile drive to the nearest stores in Greensboro, and I’m betting that less than five take that option. It truly is a shame.
I’ll try and talk to Jennifer Thompson in the next few days and see why she was “mistaken” on her earlier statement.
It’s a damn shame that Harris Teeter decided to give up on Southside Virginia. Since Kroger abandoned the area a few years ago, the Harris Teeter Danville, VA store was one of the only supermarkets or grocery outlets that would carry any alternate beands to the same old, same old stuff that can be purchased in every Piggly Wiggly, Food Lion and Wal-Mart (and no, Aldi’s off-brands don’t count).
I guess Roxboro and Durham are destined to get even more of Virgia’s grocery money. Oh well.
I am one of the “less than five”. Part timers are not taking it due to not worth their time/effort for a longer drive. The other part of the staff will retire (I know of 5 that are retiring). I am one of 5, actually, needing to keep the job I was offered (Only 40 miles like you said), better than not having it. Between now and March 30th (Tuesday is the end of the sale week), the plug could be pulled at anytime.
It does stink, but maybe the other local stores will hire the HT employees if they can. At least they will know they have experience and won’t have to train them like new folks. Reidsville, Martinsville and Chatham Food Lions are hiring according to the VEC website.
Being a former employee of HT this makes me so sad. I know most of the people there are going to want to relocate with the company. Couldn’t they have held it together a bit longer? ;_;
The sad thing is that this just is another store in Harris Teeter’s abandonment of small cities. Yes, fewer people are shopping at Harris Teeter because of Wal-Mart and other reasons, but you could tell at the Danville store in particular Harris Teeter just had stopped trying. As I had predicted on my blog last year, just by judging from the upkeep of the store it was no surprise that Harris Teeter was destined to close this location. What really interests me is that some of the Danville store’s former employees are taking positions in Greensboro – as one of the posters above is doing.