Neighbors desperate for new store one year after Wilmington supermarket burns down

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — One year ago Thursday, Everybody’s Supermarket burned to the ground, leaving neighbors devastated.

Since then, the location has remained empty. Neighbors say Everybody’s Supermarket really is missed by everybody.

Some neighbors say it’s been a struggle to get their groceries for the last year.

“I was standing out there watching it,” resident Sherlie Mitchell said. “It was a shock.”

Last year, Mitchell watched the neighborhood supermarket burn to the ground. Now, the lot where it sat is just an empty parking lot.

“I mean, it was right down the hill and right to the market,” resident Erica Cann said. “I don’t have a car. I walk everywhere I go. When the Family Dollar shut down, that was even more of a pain, so we had to go to Dawson Street again.”

It’s been a long year for Mitchell and her neighbors like Cann, who relied on Everybody’s.

Cann does not have a car, so a walk to the supermarket used to take just a few minutes. Now, the closest grocery store is miles away.

Neighbors have been waiting for signs of life at the vacant lot.

A spokesman from Cameron Management says the company bought the land in November of 2018.

“I’m hoping they just turn around and make a new supermarket or some mini-mart or something with a little more variety, compared to the Family Dollar,” Cann said. “A little bit cheaper than Tommy’s and stuff.”

The company’s spokesman says they do not have any plans right now to build anything new.

For Mitchell, she says it was more than just a grocery store.

“It was a good place to meet friends when you go over and talk and converse with different friends that you right into, that you hadn’t seen in awhile,” Mitchell said. “It’s a great loss.”

The spokesman for Cameron Management says they are still trying to figure out their next steps for the land.

Most residents say they just hope to see another grocery store back in the neighborhood.