Goodbye Newport Hills Red Apple

On Friday morning the sign said “Our New Hours! 8 AM to 7 PM!” That was a reduction in hours. My immediate thought “Oh no, they are in trouble”.

By Friday afternoon the sign had been replaced with the above.

We stopped by there a few hours ago and picked up some things. The shelves were already half empty. It was somewhat sad.

This is the grocery store that is very easy walking distance from our house. We used to walk there all the time for small grocery trips. We’d walk there all the time with Roscoe as well, with one of us going inside and grabbing something small while the other (usually me) stays outside with Roscoe.

Brandy was already a little upset with them because during the snow they closed early a couple of times without notice (and without turning off their sign) and twice they locked the doors just as we were walking up, and then turned their backs and completely ignored people who came up to the doors. (Not even with a “Sorry, we had to close early due to the snow” from the employees or on a note taped to the door.) I thought that was understandable, but Brandy was annoyed.

Brandy says their prices were also generally higher than the multiple grocery stores a little further away from home. and they were smaller and with less selection. But this was a five minute walk from home and very convenient. I would frequently stop by there on the way home from work when Brandy made a last minute call saying she needed something. No more I guess.

Of course, it was not our primary source of groceries. It probably wasn’t the primary place for most folks around here. It was the secondary place to go for something quick. Which, along with the economy in general, is assuredly part of why they are closing.

As for us, our primary place for groceries continues to be Amazon Fresh. Aside from last minute things you don’t know you need until the very last second, it is just far more convenient. And Roscoe likes to bark at their truck when they drop the stuff off early in the morning.