■ Flood reduction project on LeMoyne PAGE 4
FREE Vol. 40 No. 30
July 29, 2026 ■ Also serving Garfield Park ■ austinweeklynews.com
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What happens when a school sits empty? Page 3
Young take the mic at Leaders Network event
Save a Lot abruptly closes West Garfield store By IGOR STUDENKOV Contributing Reporter
Aaron Hughes, a resident of West Garfield Park, said that he understood that the neighborhood Save A Lot location at 420 S. Pulaski Road had its problems. But
the alternative the neighborhood now faces– the store closed – is far worse. “Some people might complain, but guess what – it [was] here,” Hughes told Austin Weekly. “It’s better than nothing. It’s better than having no grocery store at all.” “This is going be a blow to the community itself,” Hughes said. The location was among the seven Save A Lots operated by Ohio-based Yellow Banana that closed on Sunday, July 26. The
By EMMA BRADFORD Intern Reporter
operator took over the store in 2023, after the city ordered it shut down in February 2022 due to a rat infestation. The location reopened under Yellow Banana’s management in September 2024. The store employees confirmed the closure when Austin Weekly News stopped by on July 25, the last day of operations. They indicated that Save A Lot didn’t offer them jobs at any other locations, and
The Leaders Network, a West Side ministers social justice group, turned over its monthly meeting in July to young West Siders with a promise to listen to them and not just talk about them. Janeicia Williams, at 27 a younger member of the network, works closely with West Side teens. She helped convene the group of young people who spoke at the July 14 meeting at the Columbus Park Refectory. “It gave local leaders, especially leaders that attend the churches, that participate in The Leaders Network and other local organizations, the opportunity for them to share their voice and their ideas around why the teens’ trends happen, what motivates them and what they
See SAVE A LOT on page 9
See LEADERS NETWORK on page 6
IGOR STUDENKOV
‘This is going be a blow to the community itself’
Youth and Young Adult Division created to amplify voices on the West Side