News of upcoming Gordon Piggly Wiggly closure shocks locals, raises food desert concerns

The store’s closing means that Wilkinson County residents will have to travel nearly thirty miles to get to the nearest full-service grocery store.

GORDON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – With hiring signs still outside of Gordon’s Piggly Wiggly, many were surprised this week to learn that the store would be closing on August 16. Now, the community is left to wonder about future access to fresh produce.

“I found out through a text message from a coworker, and I was honestly shocked,” said Yashica Austin, a lifelong Wilkinson County resident and longtime Piggly Wiggly customer. “I mean, it just came out of nowhere.” 

The store’s closing means that Wilkinson County residents like Austin will have to travel nearly thirty miles to get to the nearest full-service grocery store. Gordon will soon welcome a Dollar General Market. But for some, that does little to erase concerns.

“You know, you’re in the middle of cooking and you run out of something,” Austin said. Now you either have to go to Macon or Milledgeville, especially if the Dollar General market doesn’t carry what’s needed.”

The announcement also comes as a shock to local leaders. John Wilson, Executive Director of the Development Authority of Wilkinson County, says he learned of the news on Facebook and later found out that the closing is due to a decline in sales.

“I wish we’d have known that there was a lack of profitability in the store because we could’ve started a campaign to get people in that door earlier,” Wilson said. “But it looks like it’s too late now.” 

Both Wilson and Gordon Mayor Aprill Smith say they’ve reached out to the CEO of Piggly Wiggly asking for the store to stay open for three months past the Aug.16 closing date but say they’ve yet to hear back.

Wilson says he’s hopeful that another grocery store chain will look Wilkinson County’s way in the near future, and Austin feels the same.

“We’re moving towards increasing the food desert area versus decreasing the food desert areas,” Austin said. “So, we definitely need to move in a different direction for the community and for the county.”