KAMRYN DELOUVPRE, and her son, Dion, 4. Delouvpre told the Courier that with Salem’s Market being so close to her home in the Hill District, it’s sad that the store is closing, even if it’s only temporary. (Photo by Rob Taylor Jr.)
More questions than answers as community left in limbo
Even during a windy snow squall in the middle of a Sunday afternoon in the Hill District, where it could have been just as easy to stay at home, there they were, African American men, women and children braving the frigid cold to shop at the only grocery store in the neighborhood, Salem’s Market.
Even when the entire neighborhood knew that Salem’s Market in the Hill District, 1850 Centre Ave., was closing at 7 p.m. that Sunday evening, Feb. 16, possibly never to open again, for some reason, it didn’t deter people like Neal Sims, Roydi Suazo, Kamryn Delouvpre and her son, Dion (and his toy truck), or Carolyn Moye.
Fanfare was out of this world on Nov. 17, 2021, when Salem’s Market hosted a meet-and-greet of sorts inside the Centre Avenue location, as a month earlier, Salem’s was selected over three other applicants to open a new store there, previously occupied by Shop ‘n Save but had been closed for a few years. The big stars were out that night; the owner, Abdullah Salem; Councilman R. Daniel Lavelle, Hill District Community Development Corporation President and CEO Marimba Milliones; WAMO radio host Kiki; and plenty more.
Fanfare was out of this world when Salem’s held its grand opening in February 2024, and the store was also celebrated for hiring people from the Hill District.
Even Congresswoman Summer Lee and other federal officials visited the store in July 2024, applauding Salem’s for moving into the Hill District and providing a grocery store for the community.
Little did anyone in the Hill District Black community know that the store wouldn’t last more than a year. Little did anyone in the Black community know that the store was in trouble. A store wouldn’t be closing if the proper revenue was being generated.
The Urban Redevelopment Authority of the City of Pittsburgh, which owned the property at 1850 Centre Ave. and then entered into a lease agreement with Salem’s Market, was the first entity to publicly disclose that Salem’s would be closing temporarily, in a Feb. 12 statement.
ROYDI SUAZO AND NEAL SIMS picked up a lot of items from Salem’s Market in the Hill District, just a few hours before the store closed on Feb. 16. Who knows when — or if — it will reopen. (Photo by Rob Taylor Jr.)
“We are extremely grateful that Salem’s, a long standing local, minority-owned business, took on the challenge and the opportunity to purchase the vacant grocery store and plaza on Centre Avenue in 2021,” the URA said. “From the start, Abdullah Salem and his team were incredibly intentional in the way they embedded their business in the neighborhood, including their dedication to community engagement, hiring local contractors and staff, and building out the grocery store with fresh produce and quality food items that would fit the needs of Hill District residents and the Pittsburgh community.
“In our partnership with Salem’s Market and the City of Pittsburgh, we’ve learned that it’s not the right time for a full-service grocery store to be supported.”
The URA called Salem’s Market “an exceptional community champion in the Hill District.”
Pittsburgh’s Black community has been left trying to determine exactly why the store is closing, even if it is temporary. The URA said that it’s “not the right time for a full-service grocery store to be supported.” Exactly what does that mean? Councilman Lavelle told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that “foot traffic” at the store “fell lower than expected,” as the store is 30,000 square feet.
However, all parties—the URA, Salem’s, the City of Pittsburgh, and the Hill District community, knew how large the space was and the population of the Hill District, prior to any deals being signed. Even a small Black business with little-to-no financial backing in a “Hill District” could last more than a year.
And to help get Salem’s Market in the Hill up and running, Salem’s received a $1.37 million business fund loan from the URA. Since then, Salem’s received a $250,000 grant from Neighborhood Allies and a $200,000 grant from the USDA.
“It’s unfortunate, but it’s understandable,” Councilman Lavelle told the Post-Gazette. “We’ve had conversations in terms of the various expenses that it takes to run a store that size. Unfortunately, we need to collectively rethink it. I have all the hopes and beliefs that we can work this through so that it’s a store that both serves the community and earns a profit.”
Management at Salem’s Market told the New Pittsburgh Courier that the store would be going through a “restructuring.”
Exactly what that restructuring looks like, no one knows for now. But some African Americans in the Hill District told the Courier they wouldn’t be surprised if the store doesn’t open again. And if it opens as a much smaller store, will it have the items that will attract African Americans to come and purchase?
The Courier caught up with Neal Sims and Roydi Suazo as they left the store with multiple bags worth of items around 4:30 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 16, just a few hours before closing. Sims told the Courier he was disappointed that Salem’s was closing, but he felt that the Black community in the Hill wasn’t into supporting a “multi-diverse business as such. I don’t think the community has advanced to the point that they’re accepting of something as such.”
Pressed on his comment, Sims said that he felt many Black people “didn’t know the brands” in the store, thus weren’t going to purchase them. “They’ve (the store management) hand-selected each one of these items to be available in this store for people to have proper nourishment,” Sims told the Courier.
Carolyn Moye, of the Hill District, her husband waiting outside in the parking lot, had an entirely different view.
“You should look at the demographic that you’re in,” Moye said firmly. “I think there’s too many ethnic foods…and so (since the store is in) our Black community, I think they should have had more familiar brand foods.”
Moye, who went into Salem’s in the store’s final hours, picked up some ground meat. “You gotta know what community you’re serving, so you have to have what the community needs in a grocery store,” Moye told the Courier.
Salem’s has other locations, in the Strip District and Oakland. They’re known for their halal meats and food that’s welcomed by various ethnicities who reside in the city. Some Hill District residents, like Teaira Collins, told the Courier the lack of pork-based products in Salem’s Market’s Hill District location has caused African Americans to head across the Birmingham Bridge to Giant Eagle on the South Side instead of Salem’s.
Saxon Hampton, of the Hill District, told the Courier on Feb. 16 at the store that she felt the prices were higher for items inside Salem’s than, say, a Giant Eagle. She bought some spaghetti sauce, noodles and ground meat on the store’s final day.
“It’s really sad because this is the only grocery store around here, for real,” Hampton said.
Just before closing time on Sunday, Feb. 16, the mother-son duo of Kamryn Delouvpre and 4-year-old Dion walked into Salem’s Market. They live up the street, and Delouvpre told the Courier for a while, she used to come to the store every few days. While Dion was busy lighting up the store with his smile, Delouvpre picked up some items at Salem’s for what could be the last time, even though the URA’s communications manager Dana Bohince is hopeful the store can reopen in some different iteration.
“I live up the street and it’s real convenient for me,” Delouvpre told the Courier. “Sad to see it go.”
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