The only grocery store in Scott County is closing

By Gary Scott on April 29, 2016 at 1:36pm

Winchester-based S&L Foods, owned by Steve and Linda Wilson, is expected to shut its doors sometime next month, according to Winchester Mayor Rex McIntyre.

He says it’s been open for about four years.

“I really think the greatest impact’s going to be felt by the elderly people that aren’t as mobile as the younger ones. A lot of people go to Jacksonville and Springfield, places like that on a day-to-day basis, but the older people are the ones, I think, that are going to be impacted the worst,” says McIntyre.

“There was a period where we had no grocery [store] at all, that’s why people were excited about the Wilsons opening this up. But, obviously they just didn’t get the support they needed to keep going,” he continues.

McIntyre says there is an effort underway to get a new grocery store in the future.

“We’re having discussions about it. I’m trying to get some of the most successful residents in the Winchester area to take a look at what we could possibly do to revive a grocery store here,” he says. “I don’t know if it’s going to be possible or not.”

McIntyre adds a satellite pharmacy in the grocery store run by Byron and Brenda Berry will continue to operate somewhere in Winchester.

McIntyre says the announcement was made Monday, and that the store is expected to close in about two weeks. It’s estimated the store’s closure will impact about 20 part-time and full-time jobs.