Mi Pueblo Food Center in Atwater prepares to shut down

ATWATER, Calif. (KFSN) -- A major blow to a Merced County community. Nearly 100 people are losing their jobs as a large store prepares to shut down.

The Mi Pueblo Food Center in Atwater has announced plans to close this summer, putting 91 people out of work.

The bright colors and Latin flair of Mi Pueblo Food Center brought excitement to the Atwater shopping center back in 2010. But soon it will be another empty storefront.

The company recently announced plans to close this location by September, putting 91 people out of work.

Esther Valencia owns a financial services business a few doors down from Mi Pueblo and says she's worried about the employees.

"It's going to be tough because a lot of them I do their taxes so I know them on a one on one basis, and I know they have house payments so I'm concerned about them being able to keep their houses," said Valencia. "It's already really tough in this area."

The employment development department is now collaborating with Worknet to help those affected find new jobs.

EDD Labor Market Analyst Pedro Vargas said, "A lot of referrals to other jobs, unfortunately some of them are more than 50 miles away from Merced, but also help them with resume building and those type of occupational things they need to be aware of before they hit the market again."

The increase in unemployment is expected to have an impact across the community because people who are out of work spend less on goods and services.

Other business owners in the shopping center say they're sad to lose a large anchor store, and the foot traffic that goes with it.

Ronald Wright, the owner of Atwater Jewelers said, "Devastating as far as trying to keep the building full because we've had nothing but vacancies beside us here, the gym beside us here has been empty for a long time."

But Valencia is trying to stay optimistic. "I'm working on getting new tenants for the shopping center, so it's discouraging a little, but I think there might be opportunities for other stores to come in, we have to keep working."

After this story aired Mi Pueblo provided the following statement:

"While we have officially emerged from bankruptcy, we are still facing some difficult decisions to ensure that all of our locations across Northern California operate profitably. After detailed analysis we have determined that our store in Atwater is not currently profitable. However, we are doing everything possible to turn this location around so that we can avoid permanently closing its doors. If we do decide that this store must be closed, we will do our best to relocate as many of our impacted colaboradores to other stores as possible to ensure we keep our valued talent within the company."