Low-cost grocery store needed

One of the hot topics I’m hearing discussed in town is whether or not Boulder City needs a second grocery store. There is a question on the ballot this month (by the time this piece is published, the votes will have already been cast) regarding whether or not to allocate land at the corner of Veterans Memorial Drive and Boulder City Parkway for a shopping center that would include space for a new grocery store.

Regardless of how the vote pans out, the town needs to put serious consideration into allocating space for and attracting a low-cost grocery store option.

Presently, the only grocery store in Boulder City is Albertsons. I’ve always had a great experience shopping there and have no complaints about the store itself, but the prices have gotten too expensive. Especially as inflation has continued to rise, the cost of my family’s weekly grocery bill has grown to an unsustainable amount.

My two children (and husband, sorry hon) eat constantly and cutting out snacks will only take you so far when the prices of grains and produce are also rising.

The best option for us now is to drive into Henderson to shop at WinCo. Even with the cost of gas, I still save almost $100 per week by shopping there instead of at Albertsons.

I’m sure I am not the only Boulder City resident who has found themselves recently in the aisle of the grocery store trying to determine if they really need that jar of pasta sauce.

But not everyone will have the time or the means to drive to another town to shop at a grocery store with lower prices. Our residents deserve to have that option available to them in a location that’s convenient to access. Boulder City has always had a wealth disparity among its citizens, but people should not be priced out of buying groceries in their own town.

The 99 Cents Only store is a stop-gap measure that some people are using right now to help ease the cost of groceries, but the 99 Cents Only store is not a grocery store. It does not have a full selection of healthy foods and it shouldn’t be the town’s only low-cost option for groceries.

Among the lists of low-cost grocery stores in the U.S., Aldi almost always tops the list. Aldi currently does not have any stores in Nevada, but the chain has said that it’s looking to expand into other states.

I think Boulder City could be the perfect opportunity for Aldi to test out a Nevada store.

They wouldn’t be competing with the many grocery store chains that currently operate in Las Vegas and Henderson and it would give our community access to a convenient low-cost grocery store. It would also offer employment opportunities to Boulder City residents who cannot or do not want to commute into the valley.

My kids are only going to get bigger and my grocery list is only going to get longer. For the next 15 years I will be trying to find ways to save money on my grocery bill, and shopping at the cheapest grocery store is always going to be my best bet for doing that.

I don’t like having to drive 30 miles round-trip every time I go grocery shopping, but if it saves me money then I’m willing to do it. But one of the appeals of living in a small town is that it has most everything I need within a 10-minute drive of my house.

A low-cost grocery option is a glaring missing resource.

The opinions expressed above belong solely to the author and do not represent the views of the Boulder City Review. They have been edited solely for grammar, spelling and style, and have not been checked for accuracy of the viewpoints.

Kayla Kirk is a lactation educator in the Las Vegas Valley. She holds degrees in psychology and perinatal education from Boston University and the University of California, San Diego. You can find her hanging out in the local coffee shops or hiking with her husband and two children.