Lunds & Byerlys store to close in downtown St. Paul leaving a grocery void

George Hoh will soon have to change his grocery shopping routine.

“I got to find another place!” Hoh said Sunday in a snack aisle of the Lunds & Byerlys in downtown St. Paul he frequents on the weekends.

He’s not the only shopper who will feel the aftershocks as the retailer leaves the capital city —creating a major void during a time when developers and city officials are trying to attract more residents to the city center.

Located on the ground floor of the Penfield apartments building at E. 10th and Robert streets, the upscale grocer will close on March 26 after 11 years at the location. Company officials on Friday cited staffing shortages and financial instability as reasons for the closure.

Lunds is the only full-service grocery store in the city’s hub.

Despite reducing its hours by about 35% last year, the grocer reportedly couldn’t boost profits. According to a statement on Facebook, “the store’s operating costs continue to far outpace sales, which has made it no longer financially sustainable to remain open.”

The statement said key contributing factors were a decline in store visits caused by a shift to remote work in the five years since the onset of COVID-19, as well as a significant increase in security costs.

Company officials also said shoplifting, harassment, vandalism and arson made retaining staff difficult.

After an arsonist set fire to the store in 2022, Lunds & Byerlys made significant repairs to reopen the store as quickly as possible. Along with reducing hours, the company also made the deli, meat and seafood departments self-service and updated produce selection to offset the increased costs of operation. But the costs reportedly remained too great.

As part of its commitment to downtown, the grocer said it is working with the city and its landlord to keep store equipment and infrastructure in place in hopes of “maintaining an optimal environment for a future grocery store.”

“While we had hoped for a different outcome for our downtown store, we remain optimistic the fabric of St. Paul will become even stronger,” said Tres Lund, president and chief executive of Lunds & Byerlys.

Hoh said he’s upset to lose the grocer, plus the in-store Caribou Coffee that welcomes shoppers entering from the garage. His neighborhood coffee shop closes on the weekends, making the grocer-cafe combo convenient.

“I’m really disappointed,” Hoh said, adding that he’s looking for a replacement store.

Robb Mitchell has been a regular customer of the grocer for years, becoming friendly with the cheesemonger and butcher who worked at the company’s Uptown location. But he said buying in bulk from Lunds & Byerlys became untenable about a year ago as prices continued to rise.

Mitchell’s trips to the St. Paul store dropped from three or four times a week to once a month, he said. These days, he typically picks up a few specialty items — local cheese or a prepared lunch, he said — and does most of his shopping at Trader Joe’s or Aldi.

“It’s really unfortunate,” Mitchell said of the planned closing. Many of his Lowertown neighbors, he said, are disappointed to lose a walkable option.

Mitchell said he’d love to see a more affordable chain take the grocer’s place. For now, though, he said he’ll have to use public transportation more frequently to shop at stores farther from his apartment.

“Now I can’t just pick up stuff at the end of the day,” he said. “Now I have to plan much more.”

In a statement, Lunds & Byerlys noted “positive momentum in downtown,” pointing to the new St. Paul Downtown Development Corp., a subsidiary of the St. Paul Downtown Alliance that was created to help foster redevelopment. Later this year, the city will celebrate the long-awaited opening of the nearby Pedro Park.

There are also several office-to-housing conversion projects that are hoped to attract more residents to downtown. The transformation of the Landmark Towers offices into market-rate apartments is scheduled to be complete and welcome tenants next month bringing nearly 190 units of high-end apartments to downtown. The 17-story former Ecolab tower is also in the middle of a conversion.

No longer having a major grocer is a “significant loss for downtown,” Joe Spencer, president of the St. Paul Downtown Alliance, said in a statement.

“Easy access to groceries and everyday items is essential to our residents, workers and guests — and to a thriving downtown," he wrote.

“It should signal to both our business and civic leaders the value and vital importance of having a strong presence of both public and private sectors coming to work in the heart of our city.”

In a social media post, City Council Member Rebecca Noecker, whose ward encompasses Lunds & Byerlys, called the planned closure “painful.” Noecker thanked the building’s owner and grocer for agreeing to keep the store’s infrastructure in place.

And she pledged to help fill the void the closure will leave.

“I’ll be working with urgency to bring stakeholders together, determine the best model for a downtown grocery store, and find a new tenant,” Noecker said.