THE FOLLOWING IS A NEWS-GAZETTE ARTICLE BY JENNIFER BAILEY
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DANVILLE — A temporary closure of the Danville County Market that began after it was damaged in last month’s storms has become permanent, with officials from owner Niemann Foods announcing Thursday morning that the store at the Village Mall will not reopen.
“It wasn’t our choice, but what can you do?” said Gerry Kettler, consumer marketing director at Neimann Foods. “We’re disappointed.”
In a social-media post, Niemann Foods officials said they made the “difficult decision” to permanently close the Danville store after failing to get assurances from the landlord, Danville Village LLC, that repairs would be made to the roof, which Kettler said sustained damage that is “extensive and significant.”
“Since the damage occurred, we have worked diligently with our landlord in an effort to secure the substantial repairs necessary to safely reopen the store,” the post said. “Unfortunately, despite these efforts, those critical repairs have not been guaranteed, and the building cannot safely reopen in its current condition.
“While this is a disappointing outcome, the safety of our customers and employees must always come first,” the post continued. “This decision was not made lightly, and we understand the impact it will have on our loyal customers, our dedicated associates and the Danville community.”
Officials noted that the Tilton store remains open, and many of its Danville employees were moved there when the temporary closure first started. Kettler said those who weren’t moved are welcome to apply to any of the other locations.
Jimmy Virk, owner of Danville Village LLC, said County Market officials terminated the lease while he was still trying to work with the store and his insurance company on the repairs.
Virk said he had to wait for his insurer to approve the roof work, as “I don’t have a few million to cover damage” that first occurred during a hailstorm in March and was compounded by last month’s storms.
That approval has finally come through, he said, and “the roof is going to be replaced,” with estimates on the work calling for a week to 10 days.
“It was nothing really to do on our side,” he said. “We were at the mercy of insurance to approve and get it done.”
He said he would have loved to keep County Market because it has been there a long time, and he’s aware there are “a lot of frustrated people” about the roof, but “that couldn’t be further from the truth.”
Virk added that he offered County Market financial assistance and rent credits to cover the loss of income during the closure, but officials told him the location was unprofitable.
“I don’t believe it,” Mayor Rickey Williams Jr. said of the unprofitable claim, adding that Virk’s failure to make repairs “is absolutely unacceptable.”
“He should be ashamed of the state he’s left our community in by causing us to lose one of our longtime staples,” Williams added.
He said he’s “incredibly disappointed” that Virk is not keeping his commitment to invest in the property.
Danville Village LLC owns the part of the mall that includes County Market, as well as Pet Supplies Plus and Ross Dress for Less. Virk said the latter two were not really disrupted by the damage and are staying. He said his company is already actively speaking to other potential tenants for the County Market site.
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