Seven Save A Lot grocery stores across Democrat-run Chicago have closed permanently and everyone’s blaming President Donald Trump — er, I mean a reduction in SNAP income, which is the same as blaming Trump.
“Save A Lot and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson are blaming the closures on federal funding cuts and changes to programs like SNAP benefits,” we’re told. And yet, this keeps happening to Chicago, and this specific story is a fascinating cautionary tale about the government getting involved in the free market…
In late 2020, Save A Lot decided to get out of the retail business and focus on the wholesale business. The company then put its 300-plus retail grocery stores up for sale. In September of the following year, it sold 23 of those stores located throughout Milwaukee, Ohio, and Chicago, to a black-owned business called Yellow Banana.
What’s important here is that Save A Lot had no intention of closing those 23 stores. Those stores were merely sold off with the 300 others. Save A Lot also wanted a smooth transfer so there would be no disruption to customers or employees; this included the seven stores that just closed.
Prior to the sale, these seven stores already had a terrible reputation for being dirty, dealing with rat infestations, and selling expired foods.
In stepped Yellow Banana’s CEO Joseph Canfield, the so-called savior of these Save A Lots … who immediately got into trouble after purchasing these stores.
“Since 2021, Yellow Banana and Canfield have faced more than 20 lawsuits, liens and tax foreclosures totaling over $2.8 million, according to court records,” reports the Chicago Sun-Times. “The bulk of that was filed against Yellow Banana by contractors and vendors like PepsiCo and Frito Lay, alleging they hadn’t been paid for delivered goods and services.”
Canfield also lost a $342,000 lawsuit to family members who accused him of stealing valuable coins from his dead stepfather’s estate. The plaintiffs claim he used that money to purchase the Save A Lot stores.
Then Canfield died of a stroke at age 54 in April of 2026.
Here’s the best part…
Despite Mr. Canfield being a shady character, after Yellow Banana purchased these Save A Lot stores (maybe with stolen money), sometime around 2022-2023, the City of Chicago handed Canfield’s Yellow Banana — get a load of this — a $26 million redevelopment agreement that included a $13 million taxpayer-financed loan to fix up six of these seven stores.
Then, due to a required lack of succession plan at Yellow Banana, Canfield’s death triggered an automatic loan default. Also, between the deal with the city and today, Yellow Banana went from owning 38 stores throughout the region to just these seven. Basically, it sounds like all that taxpayer money was the only thing keeping Yellow Banana in business at all.
This is who the Democrats in Chicago loaned all this money to…
Canfield’s “businesses faced many lawsuits, and properties were foreclosed on, including his Cleveland office currently up for a tax sale,” reports the Chicago Sun-Times. “His real estate companies have been accused of negligence, fraud and breach of contract.”
“After years of delays, Canfield asked the city for a six-month extension to complete the stores,” the report adds. “The last of the renovated stores reopened in April 2025, although two stores didn’t meet key requirements of the deal and led to more than $50,000 in city penalties.”
Needless to say, conditions at these seven Chicago stores did not improve. The locations were cited for “overgrown weeds and for “deceptive practices, which included “selling foods two months past its expiration date” as well as “51 products [that] rang up higher than advertised.”
And so, in 2024, Save A Lot stepped back in to try and keep the stores open. But it was too late, and now everyone’s blaming Trump, including Save A Lot in a statement to WGN:
Unfortunately, these stores have continued to face significant challenges, including dramatic cuts to SNAP benefits which have severely impacted these stores. Compared to last year, the stores have experienced a 26% decline in SNAP/EBT tender types. As a result of this and other financial headwinds, Save A Lot made the difficult decision to end our arrangement with Yellow Banana. Yellow Banana is exploring alternatives in order to keep the stores open. If they are unable to find an alternative, the stores will cease operations, effective July 25th.
Funny how, uh, SNAP/EBT cuts are not forcing other grocery stores to close down.
And what exactly were those terrible cuts?
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act expanded work requirements to healthy adults, removed certain immigrants from eligibility, and the result was a 16 percent reduction in Illinois SNAP enrollees, a drop from 1.9 million to 1.6 million – which is still more than ten percent of the Illinois population of 13 million.
So, in summation….
Save A Lot sold its stores to a shady businessman.
The City of Chicago handed $13 million in taxpayer money to a shady businessman.
Everyone’s business plan was to count on welfare and welfare fraud to stay in business.
But by all means, let’s blame the Orange Bad Man.
Oh, and this claim of creating a food desert is laughable. For two years, I took the bus three miles to buy groceries. Lugged all those bags the whole way. Get off your ass and stop your crybabying.
Read the full article here