Just two years after opening its doors at the Plum Tree shopping center on University Parkway in Provo, Ream's quietly closed its largest grocery store in the state.

Cash flow issues and an inability to secure new financing were among problems cited for its closure. In the past few weeks, many of the store's shelves were left empty when inventory ran out -- a sign of the pending closure.

"We knew it was going to happen in the past few weeks because they weren't doing enough business," said Greg Bailey, Plum Tree's property manager. "We're not happy that Ream's closed. But it won't affect business at the other stores in the strip mall. In the last few weeks, months, when Ream's business wasn't strong, we didn't hear complaints that its lack of traffic was affecting the other stores' traffic."

At 61,000 square feet, the University Parkway store is the largest among the Ream's stores, which typically average about 38,000 square feet. There are three remaining Ream's stores in Utah County, which are managed by the children and grandchildren of Paul Ream, founder of the family-owned grocery store chain in Utah who died last December after battling a long illness. Patriarch Ream's company continues to operate the flagship store at 890 W. Center Street in Provo and nine others in Salt Lake, Wasatch and Davis counties.

Owner Paul J. Ream, Ream's grandson, could not be reached for comment on his store's closure.

The Ream's store is the second grocer anchor at Plum Tree to go out of business. Food 4 Less closed in 2003 when its parent Fleming Cos. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after Kmart Corp. ended a $4.5 billion supply agreement with the company.

"But Food 4 Less did really well there. It closed mainly because of Fleming's bankruptcy," said Tim Flinders, a retail specialist with NAI Utah Commercial Real Estate and a property agent for Plum Tree.

Bailey downplayed Ream's decision last September to stop selling beer and cigarettes as a factor for slower traffic at the store.

"I find it hard to believe that not selling beer and cigarettes could hurt them, because Ream had said that those sales account for less than 1 percent of the store's monthly sales," he said.

Vintage Place LLC, which acquired a majority interest in the 161,000-square-foot Plum Tree shopping center in February, is now in talks with potential anchors for the 61,000-square-foot space.

"We're actively talking to potential tenants including grocery, clothing, and entertainment operators. The initial prospecting has been for a grocery tenant, but we're exploring all options at this time. We could split the space in two depending on the tenants' requirements. We're confident it won't be too long before a strong tenant comes in," Bailey said.

The strip mall's owners are now in preliminary talks with WinCo Foods, a Boise-based discount warehouse grocery chain with 61 stores in Washington, Idaho, Nevada, California and Oregon.

With prices for food, gasoline and other goods on the rise, it's not surprising that discount supermarkets like Wal-Mart Stores, Costco Wholesale Corp. and likewise, WinCo, are seeing a surge in business from bargain hunters. Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, on Thursday reported a 3.2 percent jump in sales in April from a year ago, while Costco saw an 8 percent surge in sales in the same period. Both retailers bucked analysts' expectations with their April sales.

WinCo, which made the 2006 Forbes' largest private company list at 105th place, has 8,000 workers and specializes in gigantic bulk foods, fresh meat and produce, fresh bakery and deli. Its store size typically averages between 90,000 square feet and 100,000 square feet.

"Size is not a problem. We can add more space to the 61,000-square-foot location," Flinders said. Founded in 1967, the employee-owned company originally operated stores under the names Waremart Food Centers and Cub Foods until 1999 when it changed its storefront name and the corporate name to WinCo Foods, which stands for Winning Company.

Meanwhile, Goldenwest Credit Union, which opened its first Utah County branch at Ream's, has moved to a temporary location within the shopping center. The credit union, which has 16 branches in Utah including one in Provo, is looking for a permanent location within the Utah County area.

The prescription records of Ream's pharmacy customers have also been transferred to ShopKo's pharmacy at 2266 N. University Parkway in Provo as of April 13, according to signs at Ream's entrance. For more information about new prescriptions or refills, call 375-2000.