Buehler's, Delaware (Ohio)

One of my morning rituals is to check the news in the Dayton, Cincinnati, and Columbus areas.  I used to live in the Columbus area and am still somehow interested in what goes on there even though I haven't lived there since 2013.  On the morning of January 4, 2016, I read a headline in one of the Columbus area papers that shocked me.  Buehler's will close its Delaware store. (ThisWeek Community News, Delaware edition, 1/4/2016).  It's important to note at this point that the hardware store and the bank, both attached to the store, will remain open.

Buehler's is a small chain grocery store that began in New Philadelphia in 1929 and eventually moved to Wooster, Ohio, in 1932.  More locations would be added through 2014.  Including the Delaware store, Buehler's is comprised of 15 locations, mainly in Northeast Ohio, with a couple of outlying locations in Coshocton and Delaware (information from Buehler's website).  The chain is still family-owned, and with so many big box stores opening all over the place, it's nice to see them still in place.  Delaware's store was built in 1969 and moved to its current location in 1986.

My attachment to Buehler's began in 1998 when I started working there.  I began as a grocery bagger for a year and then a cashier for four more years before moving on to other ventures.  Overall I would rate my experience there as a positive one and I certainly have nothing bad to say about them.  In fact, if I were at a different stage of my life, I would definitely consider working there again.  Despite not having worked at the Delaware store, it IS Buehler's and I'm a little saddened to see one of their stores close.

As stated in the above linked article, the main reason for the closure is increased grocery competition.  Along with Buehler's, Delaware is home to at least 5 major grocery stores which include Buehler's, Aldi, Meijer, and two Kroger locations; one 10 minutes away and another two minutes to the west.  Despite the family-owned atmosphere and services such as the Load & Go where your groceries are loaded into tubs and sent outside via a conveyor belt, shoppers began to shop at other stores.

After the January 4 announcement, I knew I had to get up there for some photos before the store closed for good.  At that time, the closing date hadn't been announced.  By January 12, ThisWeek posted an article stating the store's restaurant was set to close for good on January 17.  The next major announcement came on January 26: Delaware Buehler's to close at end of day Feb. 13.  My plans to visit were thrown into high gear and I was able to make a visit on February 7, just six days before the store closed for the last time.

Upon arriving at the store, I realized that there is not much other retail close by, which may have also contributed to the store's demise.  I immediately noticed that there were no "STORE CLOSING!!!" signs plastered all over the front of the store, thankfully.  Other than the nearly-empty parking lot, the only other signs from the outside that the store is closing would be the notification that all the prescriptions had been transferred to CVS.  Going out in style would be a good way to describe it.

Buehler's on its final Sunday in operation.  The pharmacy is already shut down; the bank is to remain open after the store closes.

The hardware store's entrance is at the far left, nearly obscured by the trees.  The parcel pick-up is in the left-center of the photo.

The store's entrance.

Once I entered the store, however, it became painfully clear what was going on.  All of the perimeter departments had been nearly cleared of their goods.  There was very little left on the grocery shelves, but we were able to pick up a few things.  While I was there, I saw one person working the store shelves, one person in the service center, and one cashier.

At this point, I would post a handful of my better interior shots here, EXCEPT, I won't be posting any.  At least not any from this visit...

I began posting my Sunday evening photos on Flickr to the tune of about 6 a day and as I progressed through the week, I had this urge to pay a visit on the store's last day.  I ended up leaving super early in the morning so I could make it to Delaware and still be back home by noon.  What would've REALLY been something was to be their last customer, but I wasn't interested in coming up later in the day to do that.  Visiting on the last day was good enough for me.

Buehler's on its last day open

The restaurant (left) and sandwich shop closed about a month prior to the store's final day

empty produce department

the pharmacy closed early on in the closing process as well

empty meat & seafood department

One of many empty aisles.  This one was more empty than others.

As stated in the above caption, many of the aisles had been cleared out of their goods.  I read somewhere that the store hadn't restocked anything since the announcement was made to close the store.  Honestly, it makes perfect sense.  Despite that, I was still able to find a few things I needed and some I didn't.

empty freezer shelves...

...though one could've thrown a frozen pizza party

empty dairy department.  I love the signage

As one entered the store, they were greeted with a fresh, modern decor.  The same could be said of most of the perimeter departments.  Dairy, however, seemed to be stuck in the 70s (or would it be 80s?)  I honestly don't mind it because the signs remind me of something out of The Price Is Right.  My only guess is that by the time shoppers get through to this side of the store, they're more concerned with what they are buying than they are with the scenery around them.  Even though the grocery aisles have this vintage feel in many of their stores (which I don't mind at all), the stores are kept neat and clean.

Closed registers.  In the background are the openings for the totes to be put on the conveyor system

None of the registers were open except for one lone self-checkout stand.  One person was in the service center, everyone else was busy cleaning off the shelves.

As I left the store for the last time, I felt some sadness for Buehler's that they had to close a store, and for the employees that worked there as they will have to find other employment.  I've been to this store only 3 times, but it's still going to be weird to think of Delaware not having Buehler's.

These and other photos can be found here: Buehler's, Delaware, OH.  The final day photos can be found in the aforementioned album, but they are also in Buehler's, Delaware, OH - FINAL DAY