CINCINNATI — After Avondale's sole grocery store closed its doors, residents are questioning what's next for food access in their neighborhood.
The closure of Country Meat Co. Marketplace was announced on Facebook late last week.
The post, written by the store's owners, states rising costs as well as ongoing theft and violence in the area were among some of the challenges that made business unsustainable.
Resident Jonathan Harris, who's lived in Avondale for five decades, said he knows what the closure of the store means for other neighbors.
“Now we back to square one," Harris said. "They've got to get on two buses just to get to Clifton, they've got to get on two buses just to go to Norwood.”
WATCH: We detail why the store closed and how it will impact Avondale residents
Co-owners Chanel and Tennel Bryant opened the store in February 2025 as Avondale's first grocery store in decades, bringing hope to what had been a food desert.
We also covered the struggles they faced, like challenges the store had with keeping shelves consistently filled.
“Now we don’t have any place to go get healthy food," Harris said.
WCPO also looked at Hamilton County court records and found that several civil lawsuits have been filed against Country Meat Co. LLC since the start of this year.
In one case, a vendor sued the LLC, claiming they weren't paid nearly $5,000 for services provided.
A judge ruled in favor of the vendor and ordered Country Meat Co. LLC to pay that money plus interest, totaling more than $15,000. According to court records, that money has yet to be paid to the vendor.
However, it's unclear if that or any other suit contributed to the store's closure. We reached out to the store's owners multiple times, but did not hear back.
Cincinnati City Council member Mark Jeffreys said he understands the closure is frustrating for residents.
“It’s clearly very heartbreaking," Jeffreys said.
Jeffreys said city leaders plan to figure out exactly what went wrong and try to come back with a better plan.
“While this one has not been successful, was not successful, we are here to partner with the neighborhood and figuring out what is a path forward to make sure there is a grocery store in Avondale," Jeffreys said.
Residents like Harris hope city leaders do just that.
“We needed this place, and we still do," Harris said.
Have a story idea or tip for WCPO 9 east side reporter Alex Null? Email her at alex@wcpo.com.
