West Virginia is becoming the latest state to join the grocery-store closure wave reshaping shopping options across the country. Cornerstone IGA will close its Daniels supermarket on November 30 after 20 years of serving the Raleigh County community.
The Cutlip family announced the closing in early November, calling it a difficult decision and thanking customers for two decades of visits, trust and support. The family did not give a specific reason for shutting the store at 2122 Ritter Drive.
Two other Cornerstone stores will remain open
The Daniels closing is a single-store shutdown, not the end of Cornerstone IGA in West Virginia. The family said its supermarkets in Lewisburg and Mullens will remain open.
Those stores are part of the same family business, but they are not direct neighborhood substitutes for Daniels shoppers. The Independent Grocers Alliance brings locally owned supermarkets together under the IGA banner while allowing individual retailers to operate their own businesses and make store-level decisions.
State business records identify the Daniels operation as Cornerstone Galaxy of Daniels and list Philip Cutlip as its president. The company dates to December 2005, matching the family’s description of a 20-year run in the community.
The impact reaches several nearby communities
Local customers said Cornerstone was one of the most convenient grocery choices for people in Daniels, Cool Ridge and Shady Spring. Its closing means some regular shoppers will need to change where they buy weekly groceries or stop for items on the way home.
One regular shopper told local television reporters that she would miss both the convenience and the familiar staff, describing the news as a shock. That reaction highlights the difference between retaining grocery access somewhere in the county and losing a store woven into a community’s daily routine.
The region will still have full-service alternatives. Food Lion operates a supermarket at 834 Robert C. Byrd Drive in Sophia, while Kroger has a store with a pharmacy and pickup service at 151 North Beaver Lane in Beaver. Those options preserve grocery access, but they do not replace the familiar Daniels store at the same location.
The employee impact remains undisclosed
Cornerstone has not announced how many people work at the Daniels store or whether employees will be offered transfers, severance or jobs at the other locations. Without those details, the closing should not be described as a confirmed layoff affecting a specific number of workers.
No replacement grocer has been announced for the Ritter Drive property. Shoppers still have until November 30 to visit, but the family’s statement makes clear that the Daniels closing is intended to be permanent.
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