Table Mesa King Soopers Reopens Nearly One Year After Tragedy Struck
Community members and King Soopers employees are taking back their store
Nearly a year after 10 lives were lost to gun violence at the Table Mesa King Soopers in Boulder, community members gathered on Feb. 9 for the reopening of the redesigned grocery store.
Both tears and smiles could be seen among the audience—which included shoppers, King Soopers employees and Boulder leaders—as they rejoiced over the opening of the grocery store while also mourning the tragic event that has been etched in our minds ever since.
The opening ceremony was kicked off by members of the CU Marching Band, welcoming grocery store employees and first responders. Teri Leiker—one of the 10 lives taken in the shooting—loved the marching band, and as Governor Jared Polis said, was smiling somewhere. Denver Broncos and Nuggets cheerleaders followed in tow.
Boulder Mayor Aaron Brockett, City Council Members, Governor Polis, and King Soopers associates took time to honor the victims of the tragedy while also sharing the sentiment of love triumphing over evil.
What occurred on March 22, 2021 turned many of our lives upside down instantaneously, but the reopening of the King Soopers at Table Mesa signifies that the city of Boulder will not succumb to fear. Now, we must heal, and part of that healing is reclaiming this grocery store that has been home to many SoBo residents.
Many former and current employees of the King Soopers store were in attendance. Kerry Cox, who has been working for King Soopers for over 48 years, was one of the first employees at the Table Mesa location when it first opened in 1973.
“This is my store,” she said. Cox grew up two blocks up from the store, where her mother still lives today. “My mom shops at this store and she would’ve been here that day … so this was heartbreaking,” she said.
While the Table Mesa King Soopers is no longer Cox’s permanent store, she came today to work a shift for the reopening, wearing a special King Soopers shirt with the anniversary of the shooting on the front and the names of the victims displayed on the back.
“We’re Boulder strong,” she said.
Instead of a traditional ribbon cutting ceremony, Boulder leaders and King Soopers associated participated in a ribbon-tying ceremony, where ends of the two ribbons were tied together to symbolize the community banding together in unity and healing.
It was also announced that there will be an outdoor memorial space built within the coming months as a permanent place to honor and remember the lives of the victims. Ten trees will be planted—one for each life lost—and a bench will also be built so that members of the community can enjoy the space.
To conclude the ceremony, the Denver Broncos and Nuggets cheerleaders formed a tunnel for employees and shoppers as they reentered the store for the first time.
