Residents of KC’s East Side react to Sun Fresh closure: ‘Very disappointing’
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Sun Fresh Linwood closed on Aug. 12, leaving a Kansas City neighborhood with limited options for groceries.
- The grocery store failed to stay open even after millions of dollars in city investment.
- Former shoppers at the Sun Fresh recount issues with crime and said they believe poor management contributed to its closure.
After a much-heralded Sun Fresh Market location that the city had poured millions into to boost its East Side community announced its closure this week, residents in Kansas City’s Linwood neighborhood said they’re concerned about how those large investments from the city were handled.
Lajuanetta Wright, 53, walked with her grandchildren outside Walgreens on Prospect Avenue Thursday, across the street from where she used to shop at Sun Fresh, located at 3110 Wabash Ave. Her grandchildren clutched bags with snacks in them while she spoke about juggling childcare and grocery runs since the store’s closure.
“You couldn’t ever get everything you needed at that location,” Wright said about the Sun Fresh. “Their shelves were always without something.”
The store faced numerous problems over the years. Customers and employees were impacted by fights, shoplifting, drug use and prostitution where the store was located on the corner of Linwood and Prospect. Teenage shelf stockers used tasers to protect themselves.
Even so, Wright said the neighborhood is full of good people who are happy to help their neighbors. The problems seem to happen at different times, she said. There’s no easy way to make sense of crime that plagues their community, she said, which feels to be constantly changing.
Sun Fresh served as a convenient location for Wright, who lives just a few blocks from the shopping center. She now uses public transportation to get to stores several miles away.
More than crime concerns, Wright said she has a hard time understanding what happened to large sums of money the city poured into the business.
“What did they do with the money? That’s the problem,” Wright said while opening a bottle of juice for her grandson. “Right after they got funds, the store seemed to have shelves stocked better, then the next month it was back empty. I just don’t understand it.”
“I was so used to the employees, they were some nice, sweet people,” she said. “I hope they were able to get jobs at the other store locations.”
City spent millions to help Sun Fresh
On Thursday, a black tarp covered Sun Fresh’s logo on the building, and a sign remained printed on the entrance, informing the public that the store would not open. An employee declined to speak to The Star as they were seen corralling shopping carts into the building.
“Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances beyond our control, we are no longer, at this time, able to serve the residents of this important community,” the sign reads. “It has always been our dream and passion to provide quality products and services in a safe, family environment. At this time, unfortunately, we are unable to do that.”
The city purchased the Linwood Shopping Center in 2014 in hopes of providing more food sources for residents on the East Side.
The next closest grocery stores to the shopping center is an Aldi, located at 3830 Prospect Avenue, and Happy Food Center, 4019 East 31st Street, both about a four-minute drive away.
Sun Fresh opened in 2018 after the city spent $17 million to acquire and redevelop the building. The nonprofit Community Builders Kansas City took over the store in 2022.
Earlier this year, city council approved an ordinance for the Community Builders to receive $161,000 in rent relief and $750,000 in expedited funding so that Sun Fresh could remain open. The ordinance also authorized the city attorney to pay $450,000 to settle legal claims between the city and Community Builders.
But those funds did little to help the store stay afloat. Now, residents are concerned that taxpayer money was poorly invested.
‘Very disappointing’
A Kansas City resident who lives just outside of the Linwood neighborhood said she used to shop at Sun Fresh, but their prices were too high compared to other stores.
Parked at Aldi, about a four-minute drive from the Linwood Shopping Center, Vickie Franklin, 63, said she is concerned about how so much money from the city could go toward a failed business.
“I only went there when I had to,” Franklin said about the Linwood Sun Fresh. “They would mark down meats and you could sometimes find good deals.”
“The city poured all that money into it and it still didn’t thrive,” Franklin said. “Obviously, there’s bad management or something. Not only does it hurt the community as far as not having a grocery store in the area, but the mismanagement of taxpayer money and no accountability.”
“The whole thing is very disappointing,” Franklin said.
Sitting at a bus stop on East 31st Street Thursday, Shana Timbs, 45, said she hopes another grocery store replaces the closed Sun Fresh. While she doesn’t often do a lot of grocery shopping herself, she said the store met needs, even with rising crime concerns.
“The community has changed a lot, and the store gave people a place to be and connected the community in some ways,” Timbs said.
Previous reporting by The Star’s Jenna Thompson and Illana Aroughetti contributed.
This story was originally published August 15, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
