A locally-owned Kirksville grocery store is closing. Near and Far Downtown Grocery sells produce from local farmers to stock its shelves. Velda Salt opened the store with her husband after having success at the farmer’s market. But she says the college town environment, and its seasonal nature, made it tough to be profitable year-round.
“More than half of our clientele are students," said Salt. "But it’s not just the students, because when school is out the professors are gone, a lot of them. The community…overall the town decreases.”
Salt says customers will now have to travel further to buy some of the international foods that they carry. She and her husband will return to the farmer’s market to sell their produce after the store closes in the beginning of May.