Months after Fields Foods closed, owner facing multiple lawsuits regarding business dealings

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOV) - When Fields Foods opened its Pagedale store back in March of 2023, it was a sigh of relief for those in the area.

Once a food desert, the area finally had a store that sold fresh food

“We like to take food deserts and make them former food desserts,” said Chris Goodson before the Pagedale store opened back in February 2023.

Chris Goodson owned all the Fields Foods before the final one closed in the fall.

Now, the Pagedale location, along with the St. Louis City locations, all sit empty.

Now, Goodson is defending himself against lawsuits surrounding his business dealings with those stores.

This includes a recent suit from his former Pagedale store partners, Pagedale LLC and Beyond Housing.

According to the lawsuit, once Fields Foods in Pagedale officially closed, Goodson’s partners came to the store to pick up some of the items that they had purchased. When they arrived, they found a meat grinder and all of the shopping carts completely missing.

The lawsuit states Goodson “returned the missing carts, along with a meat grinder” within a matter of days, and they looked into other “missing equipment and property.”

Goodson’s partners said he never provided receipts for equipment they reimbursed him for. And some items are still missing.

They’re asking for Goodson to pay more than $300,000 in damages.

First Alert 4 learned Goodson’s meat supplier, Wenneman Meat Company, filed a lawsuit in October claiming he owes them well over $125,000 for unpaid bills, interest and attorney fees.

This comes as Goodson battles other lawsuits dealing with his other grocery stores, totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Goodson’s spokesperson, Paul Zemitzsch, told First Alert 4 over the phone the suits are “preposterous and inaccurate.”

He said there is no basis for the lawsuits, and there is nothing to gain from them.

“Pure politics played out against Chris personally and Fields Foods corporately,” said Zemitsch.

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