ODESSA, Mo. — Hungry people in one Kansas City area town will soon hit the interstate to shop.

That’s because the only grocery store in Odessa, Missouri, is closing for keeps in a few weeks, leaving the city’s shoppers with limited choices.

The final day for the Sunrise Market, which sits on Highway 40, will be July 31, according to a sign posted on the store’s front doors. Town leaders confirm the grocery store is closing.

Store employees said they’re not sure why the store is going out of business. Shelves are beginning to look bare in anticipation of the store’s closing in a few weeks. 

Shoppers FOX4 spoke with on Monday said this is a big problem for their city of approximately 5,600. Now, they’ll have to travel to Grain Valley or Oak Grove for fresh meat and produce. Odessa is home to two dollar stores, both of which sell limited non-perishable grocery items.

“It puts us at a big disadvantage. If you don’t drive, you’re out of luck. You have to find a willing neighbor or an Oaks bus that will get you to a grocery store, and it’s just not right,” Joyce Gallagher, a shopper at the grocery store, said.

“It’s our elderly people who are going to get hurt. They can’t drive and stuff. There’s people who walk out here to get their groceries. They’re the ones who are going to get hurt. Not to mention the employees,” Vicki Burroughs, another shopper, said.

Store clerks, who will soon be without jobs, said they’re unsure of their next moves. Odessa’s city administrator, Nici Wilson, said city leaders have reached out to the state’s economic development leaders for help, since Lafayette County currently has no one working in that role.

“City staff has already made contact with the Missouri Department of Economic Development to seek guidance,” Wilson wrote. “It is my hope that this will be a short inconvenience and we will find a successful solution for the community quickly.”

FOX4 reached out to Garciga Properties, the south Florida company that owns the grocery store. That company’s owner, Randy Garciga, didn’t respond to our requests for comment.