- Major retailers like Kroger and Walgreens are closing stores in Milwaukee due to rampant theft and safety risks, creating food deserts in minority communities.
- Activists blame racism, but businesses cite unsustainable losses from crime as the real reason for closures.
- Residents express frustration over losing essential grocery access, while activists push boycotts and socialist solutions instead of addressing crime.
- Retail theft is surging nationwide, costing companies billions and forcing closures, with weak law enforcement exacerbating the problem.
- The left’s demands for corporate responsibility ignore the root issue: crime must be reduced for businesses to return and communities to thrive.
Milwaukee is the latest casualty in a growing national trend: major retailers are abandoning urban neighborhoods plagued by rampant theft and violence, leaving behind so-called "food deserts." But rather than confront the real issue of out-of-control crime, leftist activists and city officials are screaming "racism," demanding corporations be forced to keep stores open in areas where shoplifting and safety risks make business unsustainable.
At the beginning of July, Kroger announced the closure of five Pick 'n Save locations, including one in Milwaukee’s Metcalfe Park neighborhood. Walgreens followed suit, shuttering seven stores over the next two years, with CVS also reducing its footprint. The closures disproportionately affect minority communities, sparking protests and accusations of corporate discrimination. But the inconvenient truth? These neighborhoods suffer from some of the highest crime rates in the city, leaving retailers with no choice but to flee.
At a July 2 meeting of Milwaukee’s Common Council, Alderwoman Sharlen P. Moore lamented the loss of grocery access, stating, “This impacts our city. They’re closing quite a bit of grocery stores that are in neighborhoods that absolutely have no access to groceries.” Activists like State Sen. Dora Drake echoed the sentiment, declaring, “Food is a right.”
But what about the right of store employees to work without fear? What about the right of businesses to operate without being looted blind?
Residents like Tisha Bully-White voiced frustration: "It broke my heart, like what is we gonna do?" said Tisha Bully-White. "This is the only big grocery store in the community." Yet the same activists demanding corporate responsibility refuse to address the crime epidemic making these stores unviable. Instead, they propose boycotts (which are pointless, since the stores are already closing) and even recruiting far-left groups like the Party for Socialism and Liberation, whose slogan is: “For the planet to live, capitalism must end.”
Crime drives closures, not racism
Milwaukee saw a slight dip in overall crime in early 2025—except for homicides, which remained high. Retail theft, however, continues to surge. Leftists blame "inflation" and "low wages," ignoring the fact that unchecked theft and violence are the real culprits.
This isn’t unique to Milwaukee. Across the U.S., retailers are hemorrhaging billions due to theft. Target reported nearly $500 million in losses from "shrink" (shoplifting and inventory errors) in 2023. A California woman was convicted of stealing $60,000 in merchandise by exploiting self-checkout kiosks in just one example of the brazen theft driving stores to close or scale back operations.
The socialist conundrum: You can’t steal from stores that leave
Progressive ideologues face an ironic dilemma: they demand wealth redistribution and corporate subjugation, but when businesses respond by shutting down, they’re left with nothing. No amount of protests or government strong-arming can force a company to operate at a loss.
The solution is simple but politically inconvenient: reduce crime, and businesses will return. Milwaukee’s affected neighborhoods don’t lack grocery stores because of racism; they lack them because retailers can’t afford the losses from theft and violence.
The left’s narrative of victimization crumbles under scrutiny. Stores close where crime thrives. Period. If activists truly cared about food access, they’d demand tougher policing and prosecution of theft instead of scapegoating corporations. Until then, the exodus will continue, and Milwaukee’s most vulnerable residents will pay the price for their leaders’ denial.
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