The Pick ‘n Save located at 1818 W. National Ave. officially closed Friday, Sept. 2 at 6 p.m., according to Bonnie Kwitek, an administrative assistant in engineering at Roundy’s Supermarkets, the parent company of Pick ‘n Save.
The closest Pick ‘n Save to Marquette is now located at 605 E. Lyon St. in Milwaukee, near the Milwaukee School of Engineering.
The proximity of the store on National Avenue made grocery shopping easier for Marquette students who previously visited the store.
“It was more convenient and it’s usually cheaper than the one by Chipotle (on Lyon Street), although I’ve shopped there, too,” Lexi Boudreau, a senior in the College of Engineering, said.
Caroline Kupchella, a junior in the College of Communication, recently began testing out grocery stores to get food for her apartment in Campus Town West. Kupchella previously shopped at Pick ‘n Save near MSOE and recently went to Metro Market located at 1123 N. Van Buren St., but had not shopped at Pick ‘n Save on National Avenue.
“Planning grocery visits with school is not easy to do,” Kupchella said. “If this Pick ‘n Save is closing and so close to campus, I would see that as a huge issue.”
Kupchella said the National Avenue Pick ‘n Save location could have helped her during the school year if she had more experience grocery shopping in Milwaukee.
“Pick ‘n Save I know, and just by the experience I’ve had, the prices are reasonable,” Kupchella said. “Why would you not go there?”
Although Boudreau said she began shopping at the National Avenue store two years ago, she doesn’t think the grocery store’s closing will have an impact on Marquette students.
“It will maybe just impact the people who shopped there,” Boudreau said. “I don’t know that many people who did shop there.”
Kupchella said the Pick ‘n Save’s closure will make Marquette students have to plan ahead to get groceries, especially students without cars.
“The bus takes a long time to get places, so you really have to plan that into your day,” Kupchella said.
Boudreau said there was minimal food left in the National Avenue store when she last shopped there mid-August. Now that the Pick ‘n Save is closed, she hopes to see a grocery store closer to campus.
“I would like a grocery store that I could walk to because getting to the Pick ‘n Save on National Avenue is hard by bus,” she said. “It’s not very easy, so having one closer would be beneficial. But that Pick ‘n Save being gone is going to mean going up to the one on (Lyon Street).”
As Kupchella continues grocery shopping this year, she sees an issue with the food resources near Marquette.
“Are students going to end up going to Walgreens for your basic quick groceries like milk? It is significantly more expensive,” Kupchella said. “Where do you go if you just need milk? Or those basic little things that people could have gone to Pick ‘n Save for?”
Roundy’s Supermarkets operates grocery stores such as Pick ‘n Save, Metro Market, Copps and Mariano’s.
Other grocery stores near Marquette’s campus include Sav-On Foods at 2030 W. Clybourn St.; El Rey, located at 916 S. Cesar Chavez Drive; Fresh Thyme, located at 470 East Pleasant St.; and Metro Market located at 1123 N. Van Buren St.