Hamady Complete Food Center Set to Close this Week, Employees say

FLINT, MI — In less than six months, the much anticipated Hamady Complete Food Center is set to officially close tomorrow or Wednesday at the latest, according to store employees.

The store had a number of setbacks prior to it’s opening in July, stemming from lack of construction permits, inspections, and shortage of employees.

Store owner,  Jim McColgan, declined to comment about the store’s closing but said he has scheduled a press conference for Wednesday, Nov. 7 but did not disclose the location or time.

A store employee who has not been named said, the store did not receive enough community support. It’s early conclusion will be the most recent in a series of closed grocery stores in the city of Flint, leaving residents without a major grocery store in the city’s north side.

Flint water crisis persists, still no grocery store for city’s north side

Within the flux of the Flint’s water crisis, the closing of Hamady hints to  Flint’s ongoing food desert. With the lack of access to fresh produce, the fight against lead poisoning leaves some at a disadvantage.

Access to fresh produce is cited as a preventative measure against the effects of lead intake resulting in high blood levels, especially in children. In 2015, it was discovered that Flint children had elevated blood lead levels after the state switched Flint’s water source from Detroit to the Flint River in 2014. That same year, the city began losing grocery stores starting with the close of the Pierson Road Kroger. In 2015, the Davison Road Kroger closed, followed by the close of the Meijer on Pierson Road leaving some Flint residents with little options.