INDIANAPOLIS — Shoppers at the Walmart Neighborhood Market at East 38th Street and North Franklin Road were greeted by some bad news Wednesday.
A sign on the door said the store will close July 12 and the pharmacy will shut down one week earlier.
The Neighborhood Market is a smaller version of a Walmart store, focusing on groceries. There are seven in Indianapolis.
Walmart's Anne Hatfield said the east side store opened in 2004, but its financial performance wasn't meeting expectations.
"With how retailing is changing, we need to constantly evaluate our store portfolio," said Hatfield.
The closing is a blow to an area of the city that has lost many supermarkets and is near neighborhoods considered "food deserts."
Kroger has closed two stores in the area, and when Marsh went out of business, two of its stores shut down.
Walmart earlier closed another Neighborhood Market at East 30th and Mitthoeffer Road.
But Wednesday's news wasn't all bad.
On the day Walmart announced its latest closure, the City of Indianapolis said it is expanding a program that subsidizes Lyft rides to east side grocery stores.
"We're proud to provide even more options for our neighbors in areas of limited food access through the Lyft Project," Mayor Joe Hogsett said. "Closures of brick-and-mortar grocery stores like the one announced today are why it is critical that we continue to develop innovative ways for residents to access nutritious, affordable food."
Two markets have been added to the Lyft program, which now includes: Tienda Morelos, A & I Variety, Sunnyside Kroger and Garniceria Guanajuato.
Earlier this year, Derrik Thomas reported A & I Variety, a small family-owned grocery close to the Walmart that was trying to fill a gap for shoppers.
