Save-A-Lot to close in Holley

Pawlak family opened store in former Jubilee in February 2012

Photo by Tom Rivers: The Save-A-Lot store in Holley will close on Sept. 17 after 4 ½ years. The Pawlak family will continue to operate the Save-A-Lot in Albion and some of the Holley employees have been offered jobs in Albion.

HOLLEY – The Save-A-Lot store on Geddes Street will close on Sept. 17. The Pawlak family opened the store on Feb. 15, 2012 to great fanfare. A crowd of 300 people turned out for a grand-opening celebration. Holley had been without a grocery store since Jubilee closed in September 2006.

Unlike the former Jubilee store, Save-A-Lot had to contend with Dollar General in Holley, which appears to do a brisk business.

Village officials have been worried about the Save-A-Lot because it didn’t seem busy, and the shelves haven’t been fully stocked in recent months.

“We recognize that retail business is changing,” Jerome Pawlak and the Pawlak family said in a news release. “Competitive realities, a slow economy, and cost deflation the past two years in the food industry have forced us to make the decision to close the Holley Save-A-Lot Food Store. Unable to compete with these trends, we recognize the closing of our Holley location is the necessary course of action for us to take.”

The Pawlak family has been operating the Save-A-Lot in Albion for more than a decade. Pawlak said some of the employees at the Holley store have been offered jobs in Albion.

“My employees gave it their best and I’m thankful to them,” Pawlak said.

The Holley store will close at 5 p.m. on Sept. 17. The store received more than $1 million in renovations to become a Save-A-Lot.

The closing of the grocery store follows the announcement from First Niagara that the bank in Holley will also be closing next month. First Niagara has been acquired by KeyBank.

“We would like to thank the Holley community and especially our associates for your support, friendship, and the memories you have given us,” Pawlak said.