KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Merc Co+op, a community-owned grocery store that opened in August 2020 in downtown Kansas City, Kansas, says it will permanently close the location at the end of 2025.
Located at 501 Minnesota Ave., the grocery store opened to help fill a food desert that had burdened the area for years.
KSHB attended the grand opening of the store. You can watch the event in the video player below.
Operators said they notified officials at the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, in a letter Monday, June 30, that they planned to terminate their operating agreement as of Dec. 30, 2025.
“This decision is based on what’s best for the long-term viability of the co-op and the location’s financial performance,” the grocery store announced on its website. “We have loved being a part of this community for the last half decade and thank those that have supported our co-op and shopped with us.”
The business said its location in Lawrence will not be impacted and will remain open.
Leaders at the co-op say they are working to help 12 employees affected by the closure.
“We’re committed to exploring every opportunity to transition these dedicated employees to roles on our Lawrence team or to prepare them for placement elsewhere when the time comes,” the announcement read. “We are finalizing details to help all affected employees and will work with them on a plan for support and transition.”
Work to develop the co-op started in earnest in July 2018 when the UG announced plans to bring a new grocery store to downtown KCK. That’s when officials announced the $6 million project, which covered construction, a grand opening and a stabilization fund.
"Ever since the Piggly Wiggly closed on 7th Street, we really have had a struggle with where are we going to get an onion, where are we going to get some tomatoes, where we going to get some bread, eggs or bacon,” Carolyn Wyatt, of the Fowler Park Neighborhood Association, told KSHB 41 News reporter Sarah Plake at the time. “We usually have to go up north or go up on Roe to Price Chopper out there.”
KSHB 41 News has reached out to UG officials for a comment. This story will be updated when one is available.
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