The company said the stores at 1610 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and 4111 New Bern Ave have been unprofitable despite attempts to upgrade them.
"Due to lowering financial returns, the difficult decision was made to close the locations in an effort to maintain the grocer's commitment to low prices and quality food products for customers across North Carolina," Kroger said in a statement.
But with few grocery shopping opportunities in the area, residents say they hope the company will reconsider.
"It would hurt the community, it really would. I don't understand, why would they close it anyway? I mean they just built it, you know? I don't understand why they would close it," said resident Martimer Cobb.
Citizens in the area aren't giving up on the cause just yet. There will be a forum on the issue at the Martin Street Baptist Church on Monday Dec. 10 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
If residents can't convince Kroger to change its mind, they hope to influence politicians and property owners to bring in something comparable.
"The community can say what we want in a new tenant. Kroger said we want to leave. We have a food desert. We have concerns here. We're losing a pharmacy. We're also losing a bank," resident Corey Branch explained.
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