JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Locked doors and empty aisles marked Main Street Wholesale Warehouse this week after inspectors ordered the longtime business to shut down earlier this month, putting dozens of small businesses that rely on it at risk.
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For 17 years, the warehouse has supplied small retailers and families across Northeast Florida, allowing customers to buy single items rather than full cases, manager Marie Charlemagne said. Her husband bought the business over 15 years ago, but when things got hard, she stepped in and managed it.
“When the lady came in she told me that she was going to close me that day. She said, ‘I’m coming to shut you down,’” Charlemagne said. “She said it was food safety. I don’t have a food safety problem because I don’t have food.”
The inspection report cited by Charlemagne flagged food-safety and dry-storage concerns and noted long-standing building problems, including roof damage that Charlemagne said dates back more than 10 years. She estimated repairs could approach $1 million, a cost she said the business cannot absorb.
The Department of Agriculture provided News4JAX with the same inspection report and declined further comment, according to a News4JAX report.
Charlemagne said she would like to rebuild and repair the warehouse but is seeking temporary allowance to reopen while making fixes.
She has started collecting signatures on a petition and seeking donations to pay for repairs.