Walmart closure saves small-town grocery store in west Texas

WINTERS, TX (KTRK) -- A small-town grocery story in Texas on the verge of shutting its doors received surprising news after its major competitor announced it was going out of business.

The announcement of Walmart's closure of 269 stores sent shockwaves through the community of Winters, where another grocery store was just one day away from closing for good.

Assistant manager Alex Harrison was preparing for his last day of work ay the Cash Saver he works for in Winters, which was set to close its doors Friday.

But when he got to work, he heard some news that would turn this grocery store right around.

"We had so many phone calls, this morning hoping," Harrison says. "'Call your boss, try to keep it open, Walmart's closing.'"

RELATED: Walmart to shutter 269 stores, 154 of them in the US

"And with that news, it's time to restock these shelves."

The shelves have been empty since the news came that they would be going out of business. These employees say it was because of the Walmart store in Winters.

Lucindy Wright was another employee who was preparing for her last day, but now she's cleaning the empty shelves to be restocked.

"A little bit overwhelmed, it was a little bit of a shock," Wright says.

And up first is tortillas.

"Actually, I'm glad this place picked backed up because I was selling more," says one Mission Tortillas employee.

He comes to this Cash Saver once a week to stock its tortilla shelves.

"I sell more at Cash Saver than I do at Walmart."

So it's not only the employees here affected by this grocery store keeping its doors open.

'I have three kids and a wife," Harrison says. "I'm sure they'll be happy to know they don't have to worry about anything."

And not only does this give the community a place to shop...

"Keeping this grocery store still alive, it still shows that there's life in this town," Harrison says.

A town that cherishes not only its small town stores... but its small town people.