Witt Casey’s to close March 26

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WITT — Patrons of the Casey’s General Store location at 314 N. Hirst St. in Witt may have noticed a sign posted on the door.

“As of March 26, 2025, this location will no longer be Casey’s and will be closed,” the sign states. “Thank you for being our valued guests and allowing us to serve you.”

The closure of the store will result in a negative economic impact in the community, which will require more support than ever for the businesses that will remain after Casey’s closes for good on March 26.

“[This] has significant implications that extend beyond the closure itself,” Kimberly McCarty stated on the Facebook page of her business, Mac’s Diner. “It’s a narrative about how this company utilized our small towns to construct a vast empire, only to close our local stores without regard for the employees and customers who may have been impacted.”

McCarty also noted how Casey’s actions have resulted in abandoned buildings and a lasting negative impact on the community, reflecting what occurred nearly eight years ago in the village of Irving.

“The broader consequences of this closure include the loss of long-term employees, revenue, and the overall economic well-being of our small town,” McCarty added. “I’m attempting to convey a more nuanced message, and I understand if you disagree or think it’s a lost cause, but I’m committed to speaking out.”

McCarty maintains her investment in Mac’s Diner and the Witt community as a dedication to her hometown, where she chose to establish her business rather than elsewhere in the area.

In fact, McCarty will be working on expanding Mac’s Diner’s services following Casey’s closure, according to an update post made Friday.

“Truckers and farmers are welcome at Mac’s,” McCarty said. “Although it may not be as convenient as visiting Casey’s, we strive to provide expedited service to accommodate your schedules. If you have suggestions on how we can better meet your needs, please share your feedback.”

Community impacts

Envision Witt, a community organization with intentions to improve the city for the better, expressed their devastation at the announcement during a meeting Thursday evening.

Witt is mostly comprised of low-income residents who struggle to make ends meet and residents who do not have vehicles. As a result, the only place where most people could use their EBT (food stamps) was at Casey’s.

Donna Yeske, a representative of Envision Witt, noted that Rudy’s, located along Illinois Route 16, has been working on approval to accept EBT payments, but there has been no approval as of yet.

“Then you have the struggle of no gas within five miles,” Yeske said in an email response. “Even if they just need gas to mow lawns, fill their golf carts, or side by sides, which Witt has an approved ordinance to drive in town, now they won’t be able to do that.”

The next closest gas station from Witt is in Nokomis, which is home to a Casey’s store as well as UJ’s Convenience Store. Both stations close at midnight, but open their doors at different times: Casey’s at 3 a.m. and UJ’s at 6 a.m.

Store closure forces residents, commuters to drive further to fill their tanks

Beyond Nokomis, the next closest communities to get gas are Hillsboro (11.2 miles), Coffeen (13.3 miles), and Raymond (16.5 miles). However, after certain hours, the options are quite limited.

In Coffeen, the Casey’s General Store closes at 11 p.m. and won’t reopen until 5 a.m.

In Hillsboro, all three Casey’s General Store locations close at 10 p.m., leaving MotoMart as the lone 24-hour gas station, although the Shell station nearby reportedly allows for paying at the pump after the station closes.

In Raymond, both of their gas stations close at 11 p.m. and won’t reopen until 6 a.m.

While some commuters and local residents driving westbound along Illinois Route 16 may have a solution to get fuel late at night, it might not be so simple for those heading eastbound toward Pana have limited options after midnight, resulting in many drivers having to drive to Pana to any of their three gas stations Casey’s General Store on Second Street, Jack Flash on S. Poplar Street, and the Shell station on First Street.

Yeske mentioned that she contacted Casey’s corporate office. So far, she has heard back from two regional managers, but it appeared that there was no changing their minds, citing that it was a decision made by officials above their heads.

“I let both of them know that they just didn’t close a store,” Yeske noted. “They devastated a community.”

The Witt Casey’s store was the first location opened in Montgomery County in the mid-to-late 1980s. Yeske recalls when they first opened.

“Their reason for opening in small communities was to help out small communities with no grocery stores or gas stations,” Yeske recalled. “They don’t seem to care about that anymore.”

Yeske stated that her conversation with the two regional managers revealed that the store wasn’t making money, which she and many critics of the store’s closure strongly disagree with.

“What they do is put higher goals on the stores and push products and prices on them that makes it impossible to show a profit,” Yeske said.

Yeske has been in touch with U.S. Rep. Mary Miller (R-Oakland) to help with expediting Rudy’s application to accept EBT payments.

“That’s all we can do now and help our neighbors the best we can,” Yeske noted.

Yeske said she doesn’t intend to support another Casey’s store anytime soon.

Casey’s anti-competitive policy prohibiting other retail

The closure comes eight years after the closure of the Casey’s store five miles west in the village of Irving, which faces similar negative economic impacts from their store’s closure.

In fact, the former location at 308 E. State Street, is still on the market, according to the company’s real estate website.

The 2,160-square-foot building with a 21,000-square-foot lot in Irving is listed for $40,000. The unfortunate aspect of the sale: a 15-year moratorium on retail business on that property, with some rare exceptions.

Specified on that listing is the following restriction:

“For a period of fifteen (15) years from and after the date the Real Estate is conveyed, the Real Estate will not be used for, or in conjunction with, a convenience store, or any business that includes the sale of gasoline or other motor fuels, a car wash, tobacco products including cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, and similar products, groceries, alcoholic beverages for off-premises consumption, and the following prepared foods: pizza, hot and cold sub sandwiches or wraps, salads, hamburgers, chicken products, breakfast sandwiches, breakfast burritos, donuts, and pastries. This provision also restricts video gaming at this location.”

That would mean anyone purchasing the property in 2025 would be bound by contract to not construct or establish any kind of retail as established in the terms of sale until 2040.

It is now unknown how soon the Witt building will be placed on the market or for how much.

Only two stores in Central Illinois involving former locations have been sold and repurposed for other uses, while many remain vacant.

A Casey’s General Store was closed in 2018 at 805 Sarpy Street in Morrisonville following the construction of a larger facility located at 1002 Sarpy Street. For nearly two years, it was home to a pool and spa business and then was empty for a period of time. It currently serves as a local office for Nextlink Internet.

Another former Casey’s location at 600 E. First Street in Pana, after a period of vacancy, was redeveloped into the Western Region Education Center for Lake Land College.

Loss of sales tax revenue to prompt budgetary cuts

The closure also has implications for Witt city government, according to David Cearlock, an alderman on the Witt City Council. Cearlock called for a meeting Friday with Mayor Tim Taylor and City Treasurer Jay Martin regarding potential cuts in the budget for the current fiscal year. The loss of income with the closure of the Casey’s store will also have impacts on future fiscal budgets as well.

“We reached out to Irving and asked how much income they lose when their Casey’s closed,” said Cearlock in a request for comment. “They didn’t remember the exact amount. However, they said it was ‘significant’.”

As of publication, requests for comment from Witt Mayor Tim Taylor and the Casey’s corporate office were not returned as of Monday, March 17.

For more Montgomery County (Ill.) news, follow Jake Leonard on Bluesky @jakeleonardjrn.bsky.social and Heartland Newsfeed @heartlandnewsfeed.bsky.social.

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