OKLAHOMA CITY – A community is looking for answers as a supermarket in northeastern Oklahoma City says it will be closing its doors for good on Monday.

On Saturday, protesters gathered on the corner of N.E. 23rd and Martin Luther King, in front of the  Smart Saver grocery store.

Many in the area say they rely on the store to get their grocery essentials, adding that closing the Smart Saver would create a ‘food desert’ in northeast Oklahoma City.

Residents in the area say the closure will make it difficult for the elderly and those without transportation to have access to fresh groceries.  They say receiving word of the closure last-minute with no explanation makes matters even worse.

“We do not appreciate the sneak attack that it came with, with not giving us an advanced warning or notice that they were getting ready to close this store down that so many Oklahomans on the northeast side relied on for so many years,” said Michael Washington.

The store is owned by the same company that owns Buy For Less and Uptown Grocers.