Q: Is Piggly Wiggly closing in Brookhaven?

A: According to an employee at the Piggly Wiggly location on Monticello Street,  the store is not receiving deliveries of food and the business is for sale. The company is not publishing sales inserts in the newspaper because it does not have the products available.

Glenda Rushing, who is listed as the director, secretary and treasurer of the company that owns the businesses, did not respond to a request Tuesday for information about the future of the company. She has previously declined to provide details about the company’s plans in Brookhaven.

There has been speculation that another grocery company might buy the businesses. A representative for Kroger said it was not acquiring the local Piggly Wiggly, and a representative for Ramey’s said it had no plans to purchase or build any stores this year. Both companies have grocery stores in Southwest Mississippi.

Barry Loy with The Markets said his company has an interest in Brookhaven. The Markets chain has locations in Natchez and McComb, among other cities.

“We understand there is a bad need for a supermarket there,” Loy said.

Aldi, which has locations in the state, did not deny an interest in opening a store in Brookhaven. The company operates more than 1,600 stores in 35 states.

“At this time, it is still too early to confirm any details around the store you are inquiring about,” Aldi Mount Juliet Division Vice President Troy Marshall said in an emailed statement. “At this time, we don’t have specific information about potential store locations, but we look forward to sharing news as plans develop. When it comes to choosing store locations, we look at many factors. We want the best sites that are closest to our shoppers and can support a high daily traffic volume.”

Garrick Combs, executive director of the Brookhaven-Lincoln County Chamber of Commerce, said there is an effort underway to attract grocery stores to the city.

“The city and the Chamber recognize the need in our community for additional retail development, especially in the area of groceries,” he said in an email. “Obviously the community wants and needs more options and I can say that there are a great deal of resources being committed by the Chamber and our city and county leadership to attract additional grocery stores to the community.”

Combs had no information about Piggly Wiggly’s future in Brookhaven.