Portland Grocery Store Closing After Owner Stabbed Over Theft

Another grocery store closing in East Portland. The building owner of Grocery Outlet in the Park Rose neighborhood tells us the store will be closing sometime this summer. >> It’s the latest in a slew of grocery stores closing in East Portland, long considered a food desert. >> They’re under a lot of pressure, a lot of shoplifting going on in the area, and it’s just it’s a sad moment for Park Rose. >> Shoppers at the Park Rose Grocery Outlet telling me they’re blown away they’ll soon have to go without a grocery store in their neighborhood. >> They’re willing to fight to stab you, they pull guns, uh you know, they’re willing to use violence to take goods out of the store.

>> The owner of Grocery Outlet on Northeast Sandy describing crime that he says is getting worse in the neighborhood. Reported crime stats from the Portland Police Bureau show that in the last year property crime is up 4% in Park Rose. The owner says the incidents get violent. >> There was a person and that person was trying to take a bag of pastries and other things out of the store and I grabbed the bag to try to get it back. That person then pulled out, it was a smaller knife, but it was a knife and stabbed me multiple times in the hand. >> We’ve had a lot of closures in this area.

Safeway, Albertsons, they’re all gone. You know, Kohl’s is gone. I’ve had a gun pulled on me for a $7.99 bottle of wine. And the crime is literally costing him. McKeever’s has his front windows broken and he says his store’s shopping carts are stolen constantly. >> And now this has been my go-to unless I want to drive further into Gresham or into Northeast Portland and uh do my grocery shopping there. This has been a great place and I just feel really bad for them. >> Most of the time when we have a store closure, the owners of the store will not will not state the actual reason the said store is closing.

This one’s a different one. It is literally right in the headline. Unwilling to compromise. And what this grocery owner means is he’s unwilling to compromise on shoplifting, on vandalism to the store, and violence towards not only the store’s employees, but the owner himself. The slated to shutter the East Portland location, the owner of the Parkrose neighborhood grocery previously said he was considering closing the store due to safety concerns. He comes right out and says it, “Hey, you got people stabbing me? You got You got 10,000 a month of goods just right out the door? You can’t You can’t have the the restrooms open to the public because they’re going to they’re going to destroy everything.

They’re probably going to do some prostitution in there. They’re definitely going to do some do some drugs because drugs and prostitution, I mean, that’s you know, they hand in hand. Um and they’re going to they’re basically just going to wreck the bathroom. So, they can’t have the general public using a a a restroom in a grocery store. That’s absolutely sad. But, you know what? This has been going on in the Parkrose neighborhood for a long time. We’ve been We’ve covered this story before. And it’s just finally now gotten to that point where the owner basically says, “We’re not willing to compromise on employee or my safety.” Right?

We don’t want to see anybody get killed. We can’t have as many of the the shoplifting incidents we’re having. We just We’re We’re not able to do business. And you’re tearing the store apart. You’ve literally got whacked out drug addicts just bashing out windows trying to get in because that’s what whacked out drug addicts do. But, the got the government of of Portland, Oregon, is so obtuse mentally that they can’t work out what to do. What do we do here? And you’ll hear the mantra, “Well, crime is down.” Yeah, but actions have consequences. And when you have 5 years of unabated crime in a neighborhood grocery store, there comes a point where gone, closed, right?

Read the article. As first reported by The Oregonian and Oregon Live, Grocery Outlet on 10721 Northeast Sandy Boulevard. There you go, there’s your clue. Sandy Boulevard, not not not not one of the streets you want to hang out on in Portland, right? You got a You got a bunch of RVs that are always typically on the street. You got a bunch of homeless encampments. You got a bunch of whacked-out drug addicts. You got people doing sex trafficking. The list The standard list just goes on and on. So, this grocery store is there. It’s not a terrible neighborhood. It’s an affordable neighborhood for Portland, but it’s got its issues.

Let’s just say that. It’s got its issues. It’s set to halt operations this summer. Corporate leaders of the retail chain confirmed the closure in an email to KOIN 6 on Wednesday. Here we go. Here we go. Here is the corporate speak, which which you know, can’t blame them. 100% can’t blame them cuz this guy has been honest. He has been honest about what is going on. Video after video after video. We saw some of the clips, right? We appreciate the loyalty of the Parkrose community and thank our customers for choosing to shop with us. Well, they didn’t have a lot of choice cuz this is in a food desert, meaning not a lot of grocery stores around to choose from.

Although the Parkrose location is closing, we look forward to welcoming shoppers at our other Portland area stores. They will remain open because they’re not getting jacked like this one. This one in particular, because of its proximity to whacked-out homeless drug addicts, is why it’s got them as many issues as it does, where they can continue to find significant savings on top brands. Grocery Outlet, right? Shoppers tell KOIN 6 they’re blown away. You know, it always People always think, “Well, you know, I go into this store and every single time I’m in there, something happens, somebody steals something, somebody’s fighting, somebody’s wrecking something, somebody’s screaming.

And yet, I don’t understand why the store closes. You know, a lot of people here. Yeah, shoplifting, vandalizing, and wailing on store employees and the owner, giving them a little stabby stab action. Man, I can’t believe it stayed open this long. The prices are really competitive. I did a lot of shopping here, but my other store, Fred Meyer up the street, they’re gone now, too. We had one in in in Lake City here in Seattle. And you know, everybody got all the dems got worked up, all the libtards got worked up. We’ve got a food desert. Why do you have a food desert? Why do you have a food desert in this area of Portland and Park Rose?

Why do you have a food desert? Cuz you’ve allowed a bunch of whacked-out drug addicts to just run their lives like it’s you know, it’s their world. Without incarcerating them, without enforcing treatment, without getting them mental health care that they need. Just allow these people to run free and this is what happens. Stores closed down. We had the the Lake City uh it was a Fred Meyer closed down. You know what the mayor of Seattle said? New new mayor, Katie Wilson, we’re going to we’re going to not allow these stores to close down anymore. And you’re like, what? How? What are you going to What are you going to do?

You going to force them at knife point? At gunpoint? You got to stay open. You got to stay open. This is This is America. This is America, capitalism. The store doesn’t make a profit, boom, it gets closed down. That’s what happens, bunch of libtards. According to the Portland City Council President, Jamie Dunphy, who was also a Park Rose resident, store’s corporate office made the call to close this past August despite efforts from the new city government. You know what? Efforts by new city government day late dollar short. You’ve already had all the damage. What are you going to do? You’re going to make up for that?

You’re going to cut them a check? No. You got a massive budget deficit, right? I mean, it’s it’s run so poorly. Portland is run it just as poorly as what as Seattle is. They’re they’re, you know, they’re in a race to the bottom. To how can we get there the fastest? Well, let’s have all Democrats leading the way. That’s that’s that’s your first step and then you get that toilet bowl effect. Happens in every big city, doesn’t it? John McKeever, who owns the impacted location, previously said he was considering closing the store because of shoplifting, vandalism, and assault of employees. Crimes declined in the area since the start of city started its new form of government.

Had much better response times from Portland police. Doesn’t matter. You’ve got a history of this stuff going on and corporate looks at over time. All right, we got to cut something here. Numbers ain’t working. That store. And that’s what happens. And then all the libtards get worked up over ah, we’re out of food desert. The elderly aren’t going to get their food. Well, maybe you should have thought of that when you were just basically letting these stores just get raped. How about that? Maybe you should have thought of that. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. We can’t arrest anybody. That’s racist. So, they do a five-year look back and looks cumulatively over the last five years, corporate does at all these metrics, which are the worst five years of our city’s history.

All right. All right. Props to John Fee for saying that. He’s calling it the way it is. The worst five years in Portland ever. But this is what happens when you have those kind of super tumultuous times. And the Democrats don’t really care about business. They certainly don’t care about small business. They don’t care about policing. They would rather defund the police because that’s a, you know, an ingrained concept. Oh, it’s going to work out great just like socialism. Right? Works for those who don’t. So, they were unwilling to compromise. They were unwilling to compromise on shoplifting. Yeah, we’re not going to we’re not going to allow that, okay?

Cuz we’re going to close down. Violence. Yeah, we’re we’re not going to have anybody stabbed anymore. And then just absolutely hammering on the stores, stealing carts, whacking windows, just any of the number of things that the the whacked out homeless you know, population does. And these blue cities are just like, oh yeah, oh yeah, it’s got to have your recreational events as well. You know, they get a little bit of exercise swinging that hammer into that big window. They really do. Tricep action right there, right? Maybe a little bit of secondary deltoids. An email Portland Police Bureau spokesperson Mike Brenner noted the agency was addressed safety concerns.

Okay, day late, dollar short. Too bad. Fred Meyer’s Hazelwood neighborhood location shuttered last year. They expressed concerns. Here we go. Expressed concerns. They’ve got concerns that these stores are going to close down. It’s it Actions have consequences, right? They really do. They really do. I mean, and it’s and it’s so brutally apparent. Workers don’t feel safe as owner considers closing due to crime. This was November of 25. So, this this story has just been unwinding, right? I mean, it’s we’re going to close, we’re going to close. Oh my gosh, we’re in a food desert. East Portland residents react to yet another grocery store closure in Multnomah County.

Yep, yet another. Meaning, this is ongoing. This is a trend. This is not limited to one individual store or one individual, you know, chain, one individual corporate decision. It’s not. And it’s not just Portland, either. It’s any big blue liberal city that hasn’t prioritized public safety. And most of them do not. They They believe in, you know, justice reform, which just allows the criminals to just be out there doing their thing. Don’t arrest them. That’s racist. So, this is an ongoing deal. And unfortunately, in Portland, it’s I mean, it is it is really starting to be impact things. Barco’s Grocery Outlet workers don’t feel safe as owner considers closing due to crime.

You notice the owner was talking about smaller people, not physically more dominant people, don’t feel safe. And he he’s he just basically saying they fear for their life. They fear for their life. Why do they fear for their life? Because Portland is allowing drug addicts, mentally ill, combinations of the two, not incarcerating anybody, not putting anybody into treatment, just allowing them to run willy-nilly over the city. And this is what happens. You end up with a grocery desert. It’s kind of par for the course, isn’t it? I mean, you see it in Chicago as well. You see it in areas of LA as well.

You see it in areas of New York. Closed. Closed. Closed. Because you’ve got unbridled crime. You You’ve got this happening. So, when you talk about the workers don’t feel safe, you’re literally talking about survival of the fittest. You’re talking about big people are going to have a better chance of making it versus the small people. Tell you what, that is not a grocery store that I I I don’t want to play the Hunger Games. No pun intended. When when I’m walking into a grocery store, do you know what I mean? I walk into a grocery store and I want to say, “All right, I’ve been here before, but where’s the where’s the produce?

Where’s the where’s the whatever I’m looking for?” I don’t want to have to I don’t want to have to think about, “Okay, did I bring a weapon?” All right, there’s some dudes over there. They look pretty big. I I think I can handle that one and that one. Oh, that other one holding a machete. I don’t know. You know what I mean? And that is not out of the realm for Portland or for Seattle or San Fran. You have people running around with machetes all day long. They’re they’re they’re mental. And what’s the police department doing? Well, you know, we’ll get to it when we can. The police departments in these big big blue cities, they are muzzled.

They are muzzled at best. It’s sad to see. You got to let the cops do their thing. If the cops got to get a little rough on people, you know what? You need a little pushback. You need some you need some drawing a hard line in the sand. Hey, don’t cross this. Don’t cross this line. You know, maybe some pushback. But the way that leadership has gone in big blue cities is so hands-off that that’s another huge factor in why these people continue to do what they’re doing, which is stealing from the grocery stores so that they can support their drug habits, so that they can whack the grocery store’s windows out with a hammer.

Yeah, circular, right? All right, what are we doing today? Well, we’re going to rob the store and then we’re going to go back high as a kite and we’re going to bash the windows. What do you say? I’m in. Let’s go, boys. Violence and thievery on the verge of triggering major store shut downs in Park Rose. Find out how thieves and vandals are driving Park Rose retailers to shut down and what the city of Portland isn’t doing about it. This this is just a known quantity and yes, things are getting better based on the crime stats, but you know what? That is because the crime stats were at all-time highs.

Um you know, back during the pandemic. Now they’re coming down. That doesn’t mean things are better. It doesn’t mean things are at a good level of acceptable crime. It just means they’re down from all-time highs. So, that’s why these stores are closing down. You you can’t point to these you know, data points and go see everything’s okay. It’s fine. We’re we’re going to be okay. So, here’s where the owner makes some interesting comments and it’s about individual ownership of the grocery outlet versus like big corporate. It’s not a traditional franchise grocery outlet because we select and buy our own equipment from shelves and refrigeration units to cash registers.

McIver explained, “We’re required to keep up the company standards, but we pay all the taxes, fund our own payroll, and purchase the licensing. This means, and here’s the explanation, when people steal from our store, they’re stealing from my family.” Yeah, that’s different than ah, corporate has insurance. It’s going to be fine. And from our employees who we treat like family and who receive better than entry wages, earned pay raises, and benefits. So, you know, you really can’t blame the guy for just basically saying enough is enough. We are closed down. I think so much of this is on purpose.

Let the city burn, we’ll rebuild it the way we want, we’ll build our little 15-minute city, we’ll make it just one big and massive dense ghetto, and everything will be great. You’ll you’ll own nothing and you’ll love it. I think there’s a lot to that. Now all these bits and pieces come together, I don’t know. Because otherwise otherwise, you got two options on leadership. Just you know, mentally compromised, they’re just which I guess, you know, you might argue that, you know, the their affiliation is such. Or they’re just really stupid. Cuz who else wants to let their city go like this? I think I think this is on purpose.

I think it’s What do you think? Let me know in the comments. What do you think? Why are we doing this? Or why are we allowing this to happen? Some cities aren’t. Some cities actually enforce the law. A relentless enforcement of the law. Oklahoma. Governor. This is what we’re doing. We’re not allowing things to just go, you know, willy-nilly crazy. And you’ve got crime there as well. But they fight back on it. Whereas Portland? Ah, you bash the window. You know, we’re we’re socialists here, so you know, collective wants of the whatever. Of the group. We’re we’re fighting back against this individual, you know, this rugged individualism.

We don’t want that. We’re commies. We love it when stores close down because then the city can come over and and, you know, create their own grocery store cuz that always goes so well. What was it? Kansas City just shut a couple down and city-run grocery stores cuz they were so economically not viable. I think a lot of this is on purpose. I think there’s a plan to this. What is the grandmaster plan? I’m not really sure, but I’m going to keep reporting on all these stories. And you need to be subscribed. Thanks so much for joining. Hit that that notification bell and um I’ll see you in the next episode.

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