KANSAS CITY, Mo. — One week after the Sun Fresh grocery store in east Kansas City’s Linwood Shopping Center abruptly shut its doors, the nonprofit behind the store is breaking its silence and placing part of the blame on the city.
Community Builders of Kansas City, the organization that operated the store, said years of systemic issues, including violent crime, untreated mental health needs, and a lack of city support, made it impossible to keep the store open.
“We no longer could do business in a place that had a significant amount of societal issues that were not conducive with doing business,” said Emmet Pierson Jr., president and CEO of Community Builders of Kansas City…