Chippewa Falls Grocery Store to Permanently Close in April

The Family Fare grocery store in downtown Chippewa Falls will close permanently this Spring, laying off nearly 60 workers.

According to a layoff notice filed with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development this week, the Family Fare grocery store on Bay Street in Chippewa Falls will officially close between April 11th and April 22nd.

The store is owned by a company called SpartanNash, which closed another Family Fare location in Lake Hallie last year. According to the layoff notice, 57 employees in total will be laid off including 55 hourly workers and two salaried workers. The notice also highlighted that there are no union-related issues with the closure and there are no applicable bumping rights for the affected employees.

The company did not share what factors it considered in its decision to permanently close the grocery store. Some local stores have expressed concerns over federal changes to SNAP benefits, known as FoodShare in Wisconsin, over recent months. During a press conference at The Community Table in Eau Claire in November, State Representative Jodi Emerson specifically highlighted the loss of SNAP benefits as the potential driving factor behind small grocery store closures in rural areas where customers rely on those benefits more heavily.

The closure will also leave Chippewa Falls without a sizable grocery store in the downtown area. Like the closure of HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital nearly two years ago, the Family Fare closure will force many local residents to travel further for their basic needs.

Chippewa Falls has seen some other significant closures over recent years. In addition to the HSHS closures and the closure of the other Family Fare location, the closure of Leinenkugel’s Brewery last year also led to over 50 workers being laid off.