Jody’s Market, the downtown Lawrence microgrocery store, will close Friday.
Owner Reanna Slagle confirmed the closure, saying business had been slow for months, and the store was no longer sustainable. The store previously announced it was scaling back what products it carries, and it is currently having a closing sale.
Slagle said the primary pressures that caused the closure came from the broader economy. She said as tariffs and the war in Iran raised prices, customers thinned.
“When we are a tiny business anyway, it was kind of hard to keep up and have good prices to compare to the other stores,” Slagle said.
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She said supporting a store that is a dollar or two more expensive becomes challenging for folks when their budgets already feel pinched.
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Jody’s Market opened in July 2024 at 10 E. Ninth St., Suite C.
Slagle expressed gratitude for the regular customers that kept the shop going, especially downtown employees who frequently stopped into the store for a snack or energy drink.
“We just didn’t have enough regulars,” she said. “The biggest supporters were the downtown employees and a lot of those employees were either part-time or not making a lot of money anyway. So, the food service workers and the service industry has been our lifeblood.”
She encouraged Lawrence shoppers to support local businesses whenever they can.
“Costco is not going to hurt if people don’t shop there,” Slagle said. “Dillons will be fine. They’re a billion-dollar industry. Lawrence is what it is because of the small, fun businesses.”
She said losing a business like Jody’s Market will make it harder to add residential density to downtown. Plus, she said losing Jody’s Market will mean there is no grocery store downtown, which was the gap the store originally desired to fill.
“It was great getting to know people throughout the community,” she said.
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Cuyler Dunn (he/him), staff reporter, has worked with The Lawrence Times since April 2022. He can be reached at [email protected].
Read his complete bio at this link. Read more of his work for the Times at this link.
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