Shoppers arriving at the Statesboro Save A Lot grocery store off Northside Drive Wednesday were met with a surprising sign taped to the entrance:

“Save A Lot Permanently Closed

Something Coming Soon. Stay Tuned

Thank you all loyal customers for your support”

While empty of customers, some employees could be seen inside the store Wednesday afternoon and shelves were being emptied. The store is locally-owned as part of the larger Save A Lot Food Stores Ltd., a Missouri-based company with 720 independently owned and operated stores across 32 states, according to the company website.

The on-site managers declined to comment Wednesday about the reason for the closure or what the “something coming soon” reference on the sign could mean.

Save A Lot has been open in the shopping center off Northside Drive since the early 2000s under various companies and ownership groups. In addition to Save A Lot, the center, which has entrances off North Zetterower Ave. and East Olliff St., Citi Trends clothing and Ace Hardware have stores.

Despite Save A Lot’s closing, Statesboro and Bulloch County residents still have plenty of grocery store options – Food Lion, Publix, Walmart Supercenter, Walmart Neighborhood Center, two Food World stores, IGA stores in Brooklet and Portal. Also, there are 10 Dollar General stores in Bulloch and dozens of convenience stores. And Kroger recently announced plans to build a massive 99,000-square-foot grocery store at Cypress Lake Road and the Bypass.