As I drove southbound on I-55 recently, I glanced to my right and noticed a giant “LUNCH” sign on the Universal Food Market. I thought to myself, “Wow, they’re really going all-in on lunch.”
Then I realized that it was a giant graffiti tag, and that the grocery store had gone out of business a while back. In March of 2023, it was cited for improper food handling by the City (not its first rodeo) and perhaps it closed shortly after that. But the results are the same, regardless: another abandoned commercial anchor in another distressed strip mall in South City. They’re beginning to be ubiquitous on the Inner South Side. The closings of at least three Walgreens in the last year is just one other symptom of creeping economic decline.
In Los Angeles, during the BLM protests, the CVS was stormed and looted. Not too long after that, the corporation closed up shop at that location. It had been there more than 50 years and anchored that (what in LA is called: a “strip mall”). When last I heard, the owner was going to tear the whole mall down and build apartments. That is in a zipcode with already an over-crowded population density. Sic Transit Gloria Mundi.
Used to see this distinct building all the time off the freeway when I would go to Alamo Military Collectibles shop on Lemay Ferry Road. There frequently seemed to be graffiti on the side facing the freeway, so this latest addition doesn’t surprise me. I wonder how long it will be abandoned? Seemed to change hands a few times over the last decade or so.