Without any warning to our tight-knit community of Windsor Terrace, the property owner at our only local supermarket, Key Food, closed the store and signed a long-term lease with the national drug store chain Walgreens. This left our neighborhood without any good options for fresh food and forced residents, many of whom are elderly or without cars, to travel to get their groceries.

On June 27th, a group of residents and elected officials met with executives from Walgreens and requested that Walgreens either terminate their lease, or expand the existing building to make room for a grocery store. Walgreens answered with an unequivocal no. What Walgreens did not realize was that the residents of Windsor Terrace were not going to give up until they got what they wanted.

After over seven months of protest from the community, and over 5,000 signatures collected on a boycott pledge, Walgreens changed their tune. They finally realized that Windsor Terrace was not going to capitulate, and if they wanted to be successful, they would have to work with the community. Thanks to the hard work of many Windsor Terrace residents, elected officials and Walgreens representatives, our neighborhood is now looking forward to a new Key Food supermarket opening next to Walgreens by the end of the summer 2013. The architectural rendering of the proposed store can be seen below.