Weeks after the corporate office said the Bruno’s Supermarket in Auburn would stay open, it was announced Wednesday the store is one of four scheduled to close in Alabama.
Earlier this month, Bruno’s Supermarkets filed for bankruptcy but said it would keep the Auburn store open.
Bruno’s stores in Montgomery, Birmingham and Homewood will also close, as will six Food World stores in Alabama. The stores will have going out of business sales in the next 30 to 60 days.
Auburn Economic Development Director Phillip Dunlap was surprised to hear the store was closing.
“We were concerned about them, we heard a lot of things,” Dunlap said. “But... recently they said they intended to keep the store open, so this is a big surprise to us... It’s never a good thing when somebody closes, but I think their problems are greater than just their store in Auburn.”
Dunlap said the closing would not affect the Publix grocery store proposed to be built on Moores Mill Road and open next year.
“They are already under way,” he said. “They are coming to this market. My understanding is they’ve signed a lease and the developer is getting ready to start construction.”
The Auburn store, which opened on East Glenn Avenue in 2002, referred all questions to corporate headquarters in Birmingham. No information was available Wednesday night.
The local store has about 70 employees.
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The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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