AURORA, Colo — Walmart decided in May that it would close a Walmart Neighborhood Market in Aurora near East Colfax Avenue and Havana Street in June. The company said poor performance was a primary reason for the closure.
Now that the store is closed, people are seeing how vital its presence was to the community.
"That’s one thing these people are going to miss right here," Christopher "Christopher X" Thomas said.
Thomas has lived in Aurora for 20 years and has seen big-name stores leave left and right.
"I’ve seen it transform into a food desert or heading in that direction," Thomas said.
Thomas said he turned to growing his own produce four years ago at the Spencer Garrett Park Community Garden, a Denver Urban Gardens location. He said he's been able to keep food on his plate by planting it first.
"I know food is essential and good food is very essential," Thomas said. "It’s about time we know where our food is being grown at."
He said he doesn't just grow for himself; he also shares his harvest with his community. He knows they need his work now more than ever.
"There’s a lady that lives on Kenton," Thomas said. "She’d normally be walking here with her son. And I asked her, 'How do you feel about Walmart closing?' and all she could do was put her head down because she has no car. She’ll get up, get her buggy, go to Walmart fill it up and come right back. That was her means. Now, I don’t know what her means is."
Concerns aren't lost on city officials. Ward 1 councilwoman Crystal Murillo said she knows how important that Walmart was to people in her community.
"It served a need and a function, and the location is pretty important," Murillo said. "Folks along the Colfax corridor and in northwest Aurora tend to rely on public transit as a means to kind of get to and from work. So even the fact that the location was a pretty prime location in terms of access for folks along a public access or public transit corridor."
Murillo said the issue has prompted more dependence on organizations like Food Justice Northwest Aurora.
"Hearing that there'll be [a] five, six-mile radius where there isn't a full-service grocery store, it's concerning," Murillo said.
Mayor Mike Coffman shared a Facebook post, saying the area near Colfax and Havana can't be considered a food desert because Lowe's Mercado on Colfax is another option for grocery shopping, but Murillo said there isn't an "apples to apples" comparison.
"They have a different kind of focus and different offerings" she explained. "So, it's not necessarily like, just go to the next store down the line. I'm sure they'd appreciate the business and maybe there's some kind of stop gap work that we can do to partner with those to see if we can help fortify access."
Murillo and Food Justice NW Aurora are hosting a community meeting Saturday, July 13, at Montview Elementary to discuss the recent store closure and hear from the public.
"Walmart isn't the first big box store that was there that has closed down, and so I think folks are concerned and really calling into question what the strategy is and what's the long-term vision for the area," Murillo said.
In the meantime, until a proper solution is found, Thomas said his produce is welcome to all.
"I don’t think about, 'oh you need to get paid,' nah," Thomas said. "Because if you do the will of God and help the community that’s your pay right there. So, it’s nothing to me."
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