LAGRANGE, Ohio — A small Lorain County town is losing its only grocery store. A notice on LaGrange IGA’s doors Friday announced the business had been reclaimed by the building’s owner, weeks before its Aug. 23 scheduled closure.
Owner Erica Domec told News 5 it was unclear whether the Friday closure would be permanent or if the store would be able to continue selling off its final inventory.
Erica’s parents worked at the grocery store for years before buying it in 2010. Erica and her husband, Jeff Domec, bought the business in 2023.
“I grew up here,” Erica said on Thursday. “Our children have been here. I would have a pack ‘n play in the back and bring them as infants and everything. It’s hard.”
Jeff added, “We support our community, the community supports us. It’s just a sad, sad day.”
The couple has continued the previous owners’ tradition of philanthropy. Most recently, the annual LaGrange IGA car show held in the store’s parking lot raised more than $13,000 for the Lorain Police officers involved in a deadly ambush.
“It’s in a small town, everybody’s friendly. We all kind of know each other, we’re part of a community. The store itself did so much for the community,” said Tina Pribulsky, a LaGrange IGA customer who said she shops at the grocery store almost daily.
She and others were dismayed to find the store dark and closed on Friday. The building was open only for LaGrange Pharmacy customers to retrieve their prescriptions.
“It hurts because we only have so many places to go as is,” said customer Paul Shaffer.
Customer Jim Given added, “They had real good personnel. It’s going to be sad.”
LaGrange Mayor Gary Kincannon said, “It’s been a fixture in town and we’re definitely going to miss it.”
He explained the loss of the grocery store would likely force residents to buy groceries out of town in nearby Wellington and Grafton, and create a challenge for older residents and those without transportation.
LaGrange IGA is not the only local grocer to announce closures recently. Apples Market on Meister Road in central Lorain plans to shut down in early October. The owners there plan to continue operating their other locations.
“In a small, rural town, it’s probably even worse because there really are no opportunities close by,” Kincannon said.
The Domecs said the economy has created a challenging environment for small grocers competing with big box stores that have more buying power. Their store also struggled to maintain aging equipment.
“It’s hard. Beef prices are at an all-time high, grocery prices are at an all-time high. All the independent stores around here - we’re competing with Walmart and Meijer and stuff like that,” Jeff Domec said.
The store is also home to the village’s only pharmacy, LaGrange Pharmacy. The mayor explained that the village was able to find a new home for the business near the public square.
“They want to keep that moving forward, getting more people to move their prescriptions here,” he said.
A post on the village’s social media said the pharmacy would be open inside the grocery store on Saturday and Monday. It plans to open in its new location on Tuesday.
