The former Sparkle Market building in Salem, shuttered just weeks ago, will be sold at an absolute auction on April 22, according to Kiko Auctions.

The 25,000-square-foot commercial building, located at 423 S. Lundy Ave., sits on 2.3 acres and will be sold to the highest bidder, Kiko Auctions announced. The auction is scheduled for 12:30 p.m.

The Salem auction will feature live bidding on-site, with online bidding also available. A 10% buyer’s premium will be added to the highest bid to determine the final purchase price.

The building, a longtime Sparkle Market location, closed its doors on March 5. It features automatic front doors, a loading dock, a large sales area, and paved parking. The property also includes public utilities and heavy electric service.

The auction comes after the recent closure of the Salem Sparkle Market, one of several in the locally owned chain to close in recent months. Vince Furrie, the store’s owner, attributed the closures to the impact of ongoing roadwork on the Western Reserve Road widening project, which he said significantly reduced customer traffic.

Furrie told 21 News that the road closures and detours caused business to decrease by as much as 80 percent during certain periods. He added that the losses were unsustainable, particularly as they impacted on the chain’s most profitable store on Western Reserve Road, which previously supported smaller locations.

The Salem store’s closure follows the shuttering of Sparkle Market locations in Niles, Craig Beach, and Transfer, Pennsylvania, in recent months. A Lisbon location closed in 2020, and a Union Township, Pennsylvania, store closed in January 2024.

Sparkle Markets, which opened its first store in 1955, currently operates 16 locations, according to its website. Some of those locations, including stores in East Liverpool, Chester, New Cumberland, and East Palestine, are owned by a separate entity, Ohio Valley Sparkle Markets.