Flowers are left at a makeshift memorial outside Tops Market on May 15 in Buffalo, NY
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Flowers are left at a makeshift memorial outside Tops Market on May 15 in Buffalo, NY
Image by Scott Olson / Getty
Just ask about anyone over 30 in Buffalo’s East Side neighborhood and they’ll know the day Tops grocery store on Jefferson Avenue opens.
It was July 2003.
“I remember it was a big deal,” said Tommy McClam. He said he was young when it opened. McClam is currently the senior director of the boys and men of color initiative at Say Yes to Education.
For a long time, it was more than just a grocery store.
“It’s the village watering hole,” McClam said. “It’s not just a Tops grocery store. It’s so much more than that for that community.”
That sense of community was shattered last weekend when a gunman killed 10 members of this neighborhood. The store has been closed since then, and the company says it may take a while to reopen.
Tops Supermarkets said in a statement on Wednesday that they are “committed to opening this community store as soon as we can.”
But the company said it couldn’t commit to a specific timeline for reopening because police were investigating, didn’t know the store’s status, and wanted to give employees and the community time.
It’s a hard pill to swallow for many who rely on that store. Residents have struggled for nearly a decade to get a full-service grocery store open on the East Side – an area otherwise it’s a food desert.
People gathered outside Tops Market to embrace on Sunday.
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People gathered outside Tops Market to embrace on Sunday.
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Tops . press release since the store opened said then the 29,000-square-foot store was “the first full-scale supermarket to serve the Jefferson Avenue community in several decades.”
According to that press release, the store was the first such grocery store since an A&P market occupied the same corner in the 1960s.
“For those living near Tops that opened last week on Jefferson Avenue, rainbows of fresh produce and aisles lined with cans, boxes and bags are proof that there is hope for a future. better future in their communities”. read a story from Buffalo News a few days after the store opened.
Pastor Tim Newkirk told NPR it took a long time to build Tops. He is a local historian and pastor for GYC Ministries. He said he was part of an effort to build the market.
“We got together, signed petitions, invited community leaders and spiritual leaders to join,” he said, pushing city officials and Tops to open a market in Jefferson.
“It was a strong match, but well worth it,” he said.
An archived article from Orleans Times Herald speak The project took two years to complete and was delayed because regulatory approvals took too long.
When construction began, Newkirk said the people who built the store were workers from the neighborhood.
“For all of our people to work on the site itself, it brought a health to our community, it gave a sense of worth, a sense of worth, because it gave us a sense of worth,” he said. because we are the people who lay bricks and build mortar”.
Newkirk said the attack on older people in the neighborhood and their store broke that feeling.
“It knocks out the spirit and wellness of a vibrant, thriving African-American community.”
Less than a week after the attack, neighbors weren’t sure what they thought of the idea of reopening. For many, it’s too early to consider.
Others want the store to reopen to prevent the return of a food desert. They also believe reopening will work against the gunman who sought to injure them.
Images of 10 people killed in last Saturday’s shooting at Tops market were erected before the vigil began on Tuesday. If Tops does reopen, one idea is to turn part of the store into a memorial to the victims.
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Images of 10 people killed in last Saturday’s shooting at Tops market were erected before the vigil began on Tuesday. If Tops does reopen, one idea is to turn part of the store into a memorial to the victims.
Image by Scott Olson / Getty
Larry Stitts, owner of Golden Cup Coffee, announced during a vigil this week that Tops will reopen.
“We will not let Jefferson die. We will build it. We will not let those tops close. We will open the door for them!” he shouted to applause from the crowd in attendance.
Others were unsure that they would return inside the store.
“It’s sacred ground. A lot of people have lost their lives there for no reason,” said Michael King, a member of the Buffalo Peacemakers. “So I think they should get rid of that and just build a new supermarket.”
During a meeting with some of the children he worked with, McClam heard from some who shared the idea of turning part of the store into a memorial to the victims.
They are considering proposing a mural for one wall with plaques created for each victim. On top of that, the kids talked about creating a scholarship named after each victim.
“Back then, Tops became not a place of grief, a place of mourning, but a place of life,” he said.
Franchelle Parker, chief executive officer of Open Buffalo, said this could be an opportunity to revamp the store. Her office for Open Buffalo is located just around the corner from Tops. She and the others often run in to pick up last-minute items for events.
Parker and others who spoke to NPR, said that while groceries are important, it often doesn’t have the best quality products and is often out of stock.
Parker said she’s heard a lot of disparagement from people who think the store definitely needs more options if it reopens.
At this early stage, with the shock and intact emotions from the enormous loss of Saturday’s attack still so fresh, she’s unsure if she’ll ever return to the store if it reopens. again or not.
“I don’t know how I feel about going back to this place,” she said. “So we need something, but I don’t know if the current structure is it.”
