Lowe's Mercado grocery store sees new Colorado shoppers after nearby Walmart closes
The closure of a neighborhood Walmart on East Colfax Avenue and Havana Street left the community in that northeastern section of the Denver metro area without a valued grocery store. Many now consider the area a food desert, but a Hispanic market nearby hopes shoppers will consider them an option.
Lowe's Mercado is located at East Colfax Avenue and Ironton Street in Aurora, two blocks east of the shuttered Walmart. The aisles are filled with culture. Colorful pinatas float above carts filled with Mexican sodas and snacks. But among the unique finds is familiarity.
"There's great stuff here all over the place!" said Lucille, a frequent shopper at Lowe's. "You're looking at a lot of Hispanic brands here, but there are a lot of name brands that people would recognize, too."
Lucille is able to check off her grocery list at Lowe's.
She didn't even know the neighborhood Walmart closed.
"We would all like to have a nice supermarket closer to home. This is maybe a mile-and-a-half from my house," said Lucille. "If people would stop stealing things, maybe those stores would still be available to us."
CBS Colorado heard from neighbors worried that crime may claim other vital stores in the area.
Since Walmart closed in June, staff at Lowe's say they've been seeing new faces in the store.
Assistant Manager Noreily Ramos says they've even ordered new items at the customers' request.
"We have a little bit of everything. If we don't, then we'll try to get it," said Noreily Ramos, Assistant Manager at Lowe's Mercado. "The Walmart crowd, they like it. The store is usually very clean. We try to have decorations. It's organized."
Some shoppers are still adapting to the change in their shopping routine.
"I prefer Walmart," said Deanna, another Lowe's customer. "I think the prices are better. There's things they had at Walmart that I still can't get here."
CBS Colorado noticed some of the larger, name brand items at Lowe's are pricier than competitors.
Many of the savings found at Mercado's are in fresher finds.
"I can get specialty herbs and things for cheap that would cost three or four times the price of like a King Soopers or Safeway," said Lucille.
Like Walmart, Ramos says Lowe's sees its share of theft too. They have a security guard at the door.
Shoppers hope the crime won't migrate and leave neighbors missing another market.
