As Lafayette bids goodbye to its neighborhood King Soopers off U.S. 287 and Baseline Road, Erie residents will welcome in a new King Soopers at Nine Mile, less than half-a-mile up the street.

Signage around the Lafayette King Soopers location announced that the store will close Tuesday, and the Nine Mile location, just southeast of the intersection at U.S. 287 and Arapahoe Road, will open the following day. The new store’s address is 2900 Arapahoe Road, Erie.

Lafayette Communications Director Debbie Wilmot said the city does not have any updated information on what the future of the building may be. King Soopers will maintain ownership of the property.

Jessica Trowbridge, a spokesperson for King Soopers, said that the company is working with multiple parties who are interested in leasing the space, but have no further information about the future of the location.

Robert Meason, owner of Jimano’s Pizzeria adjacent to the Lafayette King Soopers, is not worried about losing any business, despite being faced with the loss of the anchor tenant in the center.

“We have a following that is independent of foot traffic and local marketing,” Meason said.

He explained that while it has been nice to have a grocery store near the pizzeria, as it was convenient to pass by to pick up extra sodas for the store or buy cleaning products, losing the grocery was not going to make or break his business. While he knows that losing King Soopers will result in some decline in customers, he predicted it will not be greatly affecting his store.

At other neighboring businesses, where proprietors did not want to speak on the record, little concern was voiced about potentially losing any business with the departure of a major tenant.

Shopper Julie Cavalier said that she has frequently patronized the Lafayette King Soopers. She is worried about what will replace the business.

“I’m concerned about what this building might be used for. I understand that the taxes will be split between Erie and Lafayette, which is great, but I’m concerned what this building will be used for,” Cavalier said.

In 2019, Lafayette, Erie and the Erie Urban Renewal Authority approved an intergovernmental agreement which stipulates Lafayette and Erie will share tax revenues equally from the new 100,000-square-foot King Soopers. However, many shoppers said they would prefer to shop in Lafayette and keep their taxes in Lafayette.

Emily Miller, who has been picking up groceries at the Lafayette location for approximately 12 years, said she likes that it is a small store, and is upset to see it close.

“I do think there are some accessibility challenges” for the new location, Miller said.

She said that the Lafayette location is convenient for public transportation and local neighborhoods, whereas Nine Mile does not have the same community feeling.

However, both Miller and Cavalier said that the new Nine Mile location will actually be closer to their homes than the Lafayette store, so making the transition to shopping to the new location will hopefully not be bothersome.

Lafayette King Soopers employees were informed about the closure of their store several weeks ago, and many expect to transfer to the new location.

The public is invited to a grand opening at the new location at 9 a.m. Wednesday.