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Independence, MO —
A store hailed as a sign of hope for renewal and growth in the Maywood area of western Independence is closing.
The Corner Spot, which opened in September 2010, will close Jan. 31. The announcement was made today by JobOne, a local non-profit that provides work for those with developmental disabilities.
The store offers groceries, household goods and convenience items such as sandwiches and soft drinks, but it also has struggled.
“So far as I understand ... the profit just wasn’t there,” said Marcia Greig, JobOne director of development.
JobOne is working to find other jobs for the eight Corner Spot employees. It also runs recycling and secure document-destruction businesses, among other operations. Four of those eight – two full time, two part time – are staff, and four are clients with developmental disabilities.
The former IBS Industries – it merged with a similar group to become JobOne last summer – worked for a long time to bring the Corner Spot to the old drugstore at Truman Road and Ash Avenue just a few blocks from Van Horn High School. The idea was to pursue several goals: create jobs for IBS clients, raise its own visibility in the community, turn a profit like its other operations do, and put daily staples within a walk or a short drive for residents of western Independence.
The new store came just two years after the transition of seven schools into the Independence School District from the Kansas City School District, a move that has greatly raised hopes for renewal in western Independence.
“This is another step forward in the revitalization of the western part of our great city,” Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders said at the store’s ribbon cutting.
JobOne says it’s looking to find another occupant for the site.
The store will be open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday until it closes Jan. 31.
A store hailed as a sign of hope for renewal and growth in the Maywood area of western Independence is closing.
The Corner Spot, which opened in September 2010, will close Jan. 31. The announcement was made today by JobOne, a local non-profit that provides work for those with developmental disabilities.
The store offers groceries, household goods and convenience items such as sandwiches and soft drinks, but it also has struggled.
“So far as I understand ... the profit just wasn’t there,” said Marcia Greig, JobOne director of development.
JobOne is working to find other jobs for the eight Corner Spot employees. It also runs recycling and secure document-destruction businesses, among other operations. Four of those eight – two full time, two part time – are staff, and four are clients with developmental disabilities.
The former IBS Industries – it merged with a similar group to become JobOne last summer – worked for a long time to bring the Corner Spot to the old drugstore at Truman Road and Ash Avenue just a few blocks from Van Horn High School. The idea was to pursue several goals: create jobs for IBS clients, raise its own visibility in the community, turn a profit like its other operations do, and put daily staples within a walk or a short drive for residents of western Independence.
The new store came just two years after the transition of seven schools into the Independence School District from the Kansas City School District, a move that has greatly raised hopes for renewal in western Independence.
“This is another step forward in the revitalization of the western part of our great city,” Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders said at the store’s ribbon cutting.
JobOne says it’s looking to find another occupant for the site.
The store will be open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday until it closes Jan. 31.
