Big Lake IGA could change hands in the next weeks

BIG LAKE — Employees at a local grocery store facing possible closure said they had received word that a potential new buyer had been found and could be announced soon.

“My company has definitely said that there are people interested in buying it,” said Jerry Hill, the longtime manager at the Big Lake IGA. “I’ve been telling customers all day we’re going to change hands soon here.”

The name of any potential owner could be announced as soon as next week, Hill said.

The store has also launched a sale designed to reduce inventory ahead of a planned change in ownership, Hill said.

Omni Enterprises, which owns the store, has already liquidated a Swanson’s grocery store in the rural Alaska hub community of Bethel, according to widespread reporting in other news media outlets. The company’s former website, which had listed several other grocery outlets throughout Alaska, including the Copper Valley IGA in Glennallen, and the N and N Market in Dillingham, Alaska, remained offline Friday evening. A woman who answered the phone at Omni’s Anchorage headquarters said company officials were unavailable to comment.

The Big Lake IGA is the lone grocery store in either of the western Valley communities of Big Lake and Houston. Nearby grocery outlets include Three Bears stores in Meadow Lakes and the Knik-Fairview Community.

Big Lake is also on track to become the borough’s fourth incorporated city, if advocates of the incorporation can win approval both from the Alaska Local Boundary Commission and area voters.

Commission staff said they had not heard word of the grocery store’s potential closing until contacted about it by a Frontiersman reporter.

Any possible effect on the community would depend on whether or not a closure actually happened (which appeared unlikely, based on Hill’s statements), said Brent Williams, a local government specialist with the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development, which provides staff for the commission. A store closure in a much smaller community — he used the example of a town of 100 people — could conceivably serve as a make-or-break, according to Williams. The bottom line is whether the closure of a business in any potentially incorporating area — Big Lake included — affects statutory requirements for incorporation, Williams said. Among the requirements for a community requesting incorporation to meet are the character of the community, Williams said.

“Does the territory need a city government?” he said. “Does it have a stable population? It’s possible that the closure of a grocery store could make a difference.”

“If the store closed or is potentially closing, that is something the commission could need to fit into one of the standards,” Williams added.

Another potential impact could be felt financially, depending on whether or not the store’s value was assessed differently as a result of a potential closing, Williams said. The fundamental ingredients of tax base — store, property, and any personal property inside the store — remain behind should the store close, Williams added

Williams cautioned against overstating any possible impact.

“We’re dealing with a lot of speculation here,” he said.

In the interests of full disclosure, Omni Enterprises also is a customer of the Frontiersman, which has received notification that a standing order for the printing and distribution of a weekly grocery insert has been canceled, according to publisher Mark Kelsey.

Contact Brian O’Connor at 352-2269, brian.oconnor@frontiersman.com, or on Twitter @reporterbriano.