- ADVERTISEMENT - Speakers during the press conference called on the national grocery giant to reverse its decision and keep stores open. “It’s devastating,” said Robert Gonzalez who has worked for the company for 26 years, adding that the store has a history of feeding the elderly and homeless. “After all the work I’ve done to feed the needy families. This is so wrong and evil.” On Monday, Kroger announced the closure of the South Street Food 4 Less and the Ralphs at the intersection of Los Coyotes Diagonal and Wardlow Road as a direct response to the city’s recently approved “hero pay” mandate, which requires larger grocers to pay employees an additional $4 per hour for 120 days. The company said the ordinance placed additional financial pressure on already struggling stores, which is forcing the April 17 closures.