Kum & Go to close central Springfield store

West Des Moines, Iowa-based Kum & Go plans to close a store in central Springfield.

The convenience store chain’s 529 S. Grant Ave. shop is scheduled to shutter March 8, said Ariel Rubin, a spokeswoman for Kum & Go.

Rubin cited the company’s plans to “refocus our efforts in Springfield on rebuilding some of our other, older locations and new store openings.”

“We’ve invested in other areas of the city,” she added.

Kum & Go currently operates 34 stores in Springfield, according to the company’s website.

On Grant Avenue at the intersection with Mount Vernon Street, Kum & Go shares a building with a laundromat. Owned by Wangkao Joseph Herr, the less than 1-acre property has an appraised value of $574,800, according to Greene County assessor records.

The closure comes as Kum & Go is spending millions investing in properties located elsewhere in Springfield. In a May 2019 Springfield Business Journal article, dubbed “Why is SGF so enticing to Kum & Go?,” a spokesperson said that through 2020, the company would have invested $140 million into the local metropolitan statistical area since 2012.

Kum & Go has been working to transition multiple Springfield stores into Marketplace locations, which include an open kitchen layout, indoor seating area, complimentary Wi-Fi and charging stations. SBJ most recently covered Kum & Go’s roughly $1.5 million construction project at 510 W. Republic Road that replaced a demolished store.

The company also is replacing an existing store at 2161 E. Republic Court, near Glenstone Avenue and James River Freeway, according to city building permits.