Third Meijer to Open in Detroit?

"Meijer Inc. is searching for a location for a third possible Detroit store on the lower east side.Two sources said the Grand Rapids-based retailer is looking between I-375 and Grosse Pointe Park.

A voicemail seeking comment was left with the Meijer public relations department Thursday morning.

The company opened its first store in Detroit two years ago as part of the Gateway Marketplace development at Eight Mile Road and Woodward Avenue. The supercenter represented $20 million of the $72 million development."

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...-detroit-store

Please, oh please be on the eastside...

EDIT: Just saw the article. Woo hoo!!! :)

Gut feeling is that they'll either end up at the old Uniroyal Site or St. Jean & Jefferson.

It would be nice if they urbanized their locale on the lower eastside. Jefferson corridor is much different than 8 Mile and Woodward or upper Grand River corridor where suburban develop is excusable for the most part. I would hope that the building is street fronting with limited parking and hidden. But this is Detroit and anything decent is a pipedream...

I remember working on a Sketchup thingie that had a Meijer on the lower southeast side, gotta find that.

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Originally Posted by dtowncitylover

It would be nice if they urbanized their locale on the lower eastside. Jefferson corridor is much different than 8 Mile and Woodward or upper Grand River corridor where suburban develop is excusable for the most part. I would hope that the building is street fronting with limited parking and hidden. But this is Detroit and anything decent is a pipedream...

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There are a few suburban style strip malls already scattered on Jefferson and we all know there is plenty of readily available space to work with. As for Jefferson being different from 8 Mile and Woodward, I would agree but probably not for the same reasons. Sure Jefferson is busy during rush hour but it doesn't seem to have anywhere near the constant traffic of 8 Mile or the demographics to justify some compact, urban store.

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Originally Posted by TTime

There are a few suburban style strip malls already scattered on Jefferson and we all know there is plenty of readily available space to work with. As for Jefferson being different from 8 Mile and Woodward, I would agree but probably not for the same reasons. Sure Jefferson is busy during rush hour but it doesn't seem to have anywhere near the constant traffic of 8 Mile or the demographics to justify some compact, urban store.

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And that's the story we've been sold, that we can't change it. Just because there's already suburban strip malls along Jefferson doesn't mean we shouldn't curb any more of that development. As for the latter part of your comment, if it doesn't have the constant traffic then it doesn't justify a compact, urban store or a suburban sprawl store.

It is quite interesting that after not entering the Detroit market previously, Meijer has quite quickly gone from one store to building a second and considering a third. It certainly is evidence of the ability to make money in the city, and that its an under-served market.

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Originally Posted by dtowncitylover

And that's the story we've been sold, that we can't change it. Just because there's already suburban strip malls along Jefferson doesn't mean we shouldn't curb any more of that development. As for the latter part of your comment, if it doesn't have the constant traffic then it doesn't justify a compact, urban store or a suburban sprawl store.

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I haven't been sold any story I'm just telling you the way things appear to me. As for the latter part of my comment I think the sales job will be the burden of those who want a retailer to put some compact, nonstandard store where it isn't justified or necessary.

Only a fool would say you cant make money with a grocery store in Detroit. It was more was it worth the hassle for the money they would make. Meijer has found a way that suits them. I have noticed the 8 mile store is not 24hrs and is a single entrance and exit store unlike suburban stores with multiple entrance and exits. Not sure on the west side store as I am an eastsider.

Actually along Jefferson the only sites that are big enough for a typical Meijer are the uniroyal site, some empty land by connor, and some land about a half a mile west of grosse pointe. There are also a few areas where they could assemble the land but I really don't think meijer wants to do that.

The land by connor is about halfway from the pointes to downtown which is probably desirable for them, and it's also not directly adjacent to blighted areas.

I want the uniroyal site to be a large family oriented urban development.

There are strip malls west of the uniroyal site but they're all very small. They're too small for the store itself, let alone the parking. They need a site about the size of comerica park. I think it's likely that whatever site they pick on Jefferson it's going to be compact by meijer standards.

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Originally Posted by Aerojoe

Only a fool would say you cant make money with a grocery store in Detroit. It was more was it worth the hassle for the money they would make. Meijer has found a way that suits them. I have noticed the 8 mile store is not 24hrs and is a single entrance and exit store unlike suburban stores with multiple entrance and exits. Not sure on the west side store as I am an eastsider.

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From an aerial image taken last month, it appears that the Old Redford store will also have a single door.

wait until some more of the housing is built in the planned redeveloped areas along east Jefferson.

I had always said on this site that a Meijer or a Wal-mart would fit perfectly in the Jefferson Village strip mall. Parkway was awarded that spot. Meijer would do good at the Uniroyal site that's if the land is not contaminated. Another spot that will be good for Meijer is Gratiot and E Vernor former site of Joe Muers. Hyde Park, Lafayette Park, and Eastern Market residential lofts vould support a Meijers

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Originally Posted by stasu1213

I had always said on this site that a Meijer or a Wal-mart would fit perfectly in the Jefferson Village strip mall. Parkway was awarded that spot.

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Well don't forget all of the vacant land between Conner and St. Jean [[specifically west of Lycaste). IT was rumored before, about 10 years ago, that both Home Depot and Meijer were considering that land for stores.

The only thing on that entire stretch of vacant land that's still landing is an abandoned Auto Repair ship.

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Originally Posted by 313WX

Well don't forget all of the vacant land between Conner and St. Jean [[specifically west of Lycaste). IT was rumored before, about 10 years ago, that both Home Depot and Meijer were considering that land for stores.

The only thing on that entire stretch of vacant land that's still landing is an abandoned Auto Repair ship.

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Y
You are right

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Originally Posted by 313WX

Please, oh please be on the eastside...

EDIT: Just saw the article. Woo hoo!!! :)

Gut feeling is that they'll either end up at the old Uniroyal Site or St. Jean & Jefferson.

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Folks for Meijer Corp. are not going to put their superstore there. The traffic is light. They are going to put it an a place when its more traffic. From near Gilberttown Detroit along the I-375 corridor. I should say near the former Brewster Projects.

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Originally Posted by Danny

Folks for Meijer Corp. are not going to put their superstore there. The traffic is light. They are going to put it an a place when its more traffic. From near Gilberttown Detroit along the I-375 corridor. I should say near the former Brewster Projects.

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I suppose you missed the parts in the article where it said "Lower East Side" [[I wouldn't consider the Brewter Project "Lower East Side") and BETWEEN I-375 and GPP...

BTW, besides traffic volume, I'm sure Meijer is also banking on seeing some demand induced from other parts of the east side and Grosse Pointe [[that are relatively undeserved and too far away from the Roseville/Warren/ 8 mile & Woodward stores).

I'm in NE Detroit, but I would be more than willing to shop at a Meijer on Jefferson and St. Jean [[Versus going out to the suburbs).

Just a note that the Grand River/6 Mile Meijers, serving Rosedale Park and Grandmont , opens on Sunday, June 14.

Anyone old enough or enough of a West Michigander to remember "Thrifty"? He's been retired for quite some time.

Attachment 26905

I think Thrifty may've lasted well into the 70's, but I'm not sure.

Anyway, do any of you remember back when Meijer had children's playplaces right in the middle of the store in the 70's and early 80's? The one in Taylor had one when it first opened. They were all decked out in the earthtone patterns that were typical of that era. I believe I heard somewhere that some sort of incident prompted their removal.

And one last thing-found that Sketchup store. I've placed it at Jefferson and Conner. I also worked on placing one at that huge vacant lot at Grand River and Canfield.
http://i.imgur.com/9dlAMhq.png

I think land assembly will be major problem on the East Jefferson corridor; the strip center by St. Jean would have been perfect but has been successful at drawing new tenants.

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Originally Posted by dtowncitylover

It would be nice if they urbanized their locale on the lower eastside. Jefferson corridor is much different than 8 Mile and Woodward or upper Grand River corridor where suburban develop is excusable for the most part. I would hope that the building is street fronting with limited parking and hidden. But this is Detroit and anything decent is a pipedream...

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Are you at all familiar with the Old Redford neighborhood and the relatively intact 1920's and 30's era commercial district that the new Meijer's is adjacent to? It would have been totally justifiable to build an "urbanized" Meijer's store in Old Redford. Maybe the store's facade could have mimicked the Art Deco accents of the Redford High School that it replaced. Instead, there is a big Meijer's gas station and a huge parking lot behind it.

Redford Theatre
http://www.detroityes.com/mb/attachm...id=26906&stc=1

Lets not forget about the thousands of employees at the Jefferson North Assembly Plant that would LOVE to grab a quick bite to eat during lunchbreak or do some grocery shopping after work. Those guys live all over Southeast Michigan.

Parkway just doesn't "cut it".

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Originally Posted by masterblaster

Are you at all familiar with the Old Redford neighborhood and the relatively intact 1920's and 30's era commercial district that the new Meijer's is adjacent to? It would have been totally justifiable to build an "urbanized" Meijer's store in Old Redford. Maybe the store's facade could have mimicked the Art Deco accents of the Redford High School that it replaced. Instead, there is a big Meijer's gas station and a huge parking lot behind it.

Redford Theatre
http://www.detroityes.com/mb/attachm...id=26906&stc=1

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I wish all the Meijer's in Detroit were street front-ed with parking in the back, but I can understand why those two were built like that; because they were built out of the inner city where there was more land to put the store.

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Originally Posted by Marlon_JB2

Lets not forget about the thousands of employees at the Jefferson North Assembly Plant that would LOVE to grab a quick bite to eat during lunchbreak or do some grocery shopping after work. Those guys live all over Southeast Michigan.

Parkway just doesn't "cut it".

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Very true. Good point.

EDIT: There's also the Mack Avenue Engine Complex.

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Originally Posted by Marlon_JB2

Lets not forget about the thousands of employees at the Jefferson North Assembly Plant that would LOVE to grab a quick bite to eat during lunchbreak or do some grocery shopping after work. Those guys live all over Southeast Michigan.

Parkway just doesn't "cut it".

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If the service would be anything like it is at the 8 mile store, there would be nothing "quick" about it.

most any time of the day, you have to pack a lunch in order to get through the checkout lines. The never have enough of them open. We've given this place a good shot and will be shopping elsewhere. We've mentioned the poor service, not to mention the constant lack of stock, to the Management for a while now -- so we're voting with our feet. I understand that "all out on the floor" approach will keep theft in the backroom down but this place can't keep the shelves stocked at all.

Wish them well and hope to come back once customer service improves --- dramatically.

The only issue I have is that stores like Meijers, Whole Foods don't have the same inventory as their suburban sister stores. I have only patronized the 8 mile Meijers once and I couldnt find half of the items that I usually find at the Meijers off of gratiot.

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Originally Posted by Mzsuzuki

The only issue I have is that stores like Meijers, Whole Foods don't have the same inventory as their suburban sister stores. I have only patronized the 8 mile Meijers once and I couldnt find half of the items that I usually find at the Meijers off of gratiot.

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That may be true, and I found out their once charitable take on giving some folks a break on antibiotic prescriptions [[Got some Ery-Tab once as an impoverished person in Champaign, Il.-just tell em' you're from Michigan.) has been reduced in the last few years to the very ones I'm allergic to. Oh well....at least they carry decent Almond Windmill cookies.

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Originally Posted by Baselinepunk

If the service would be anything like it is at the 8 mile store, there would be nothing "quick" about it.

most any time of the day, you have to pack a lunch in order to get through the checkout lines. The never have enough of them open. We've given this place a good shot and will be shopping elsewhere. We've mentioned the poor service, not to mention the constant lack of stock, to the Management for a while now -- so we're voting with our feet. I understand that "all out on the floor" approach will keep theft in the backroom down but this place can't keep the shelves stocked at all.

Wish them well and hope to come back once customer service improves --- dramatically.

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It's the same at all Meijer locations.

I stopped at the location in Rochester Hills [[since I, in a rare instance, was in that area) just a couple weeks ago only for some bananas and had to wait 10 minutes JUST for a self checkout register.

The Meijers in Warren on Mound isn't that bad, then again, I usually go during evening hours.

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Originally Posted by 313WX

It's the same at all Meijer locations.

I stopped at the location in Rochester Hills [[since I, in a rare instance, was in that area) just a couple weeks ago only for some bananas and had to wait 10 minutes JUST for a self checkout register.

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The one on Fort Street in Southgate ain't that bad, even at noon.

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Originally Posted by 313WX

It's the same at all Meijer locations.

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Haha. I was thinking the same thing. Absolutely true.

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Originally Posted by CrashDummy

Haha. I was thinking the same thing. Absolutely true.

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Agree with CrashDummy and 313WX. It's better in some places than others, but even on its best day, Meijer customer service on its best day would be characterized as "not as bad as Walmart".

The worst offenders:
Livonia Meijer on Middlebelt...one winter day, all of the shopping carts were in the [[snowy) parking lot. But, of course, not in the cart location...just strewn all over the lot.

Gratiot Meijer is ok-ish, but God forbid you're their on a Saturday, it's a zoo at the checkout line.

Ann Arbor [[Carpenter Rd.) on Saturday, lines have been terrible.

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On the better side...

Ann Arbor [[Jackson Rd.) Surprisingly clean, with pleasant [[but sometimes understaffed employees)

Macomb [[Hall Rd.) Also clean, but sometimes understaffed.

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Of course, it's no surprise, that the level of customer service you're getting is related to the general education level of the surrounding pool of employees. In either case, I'm not going to the Meijer on 8 Mile because the customer service is fantastic, I go there because they have things I can't buy at Whole Foods, and it's too inconvenient to drive to Allen Park.

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Originally Posted by 313WX

It's the same at all Meijer locations.

I stopped at the location in Rochester Hills [[since I, in a rare instance, was in that area) just a couple weeks ago only for some bananas and had to wait 10 minutes JUST for a self checkout register.

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The Meijer by my office on 12 Mile / Telegraph is always jammed and I'm usually in and out really fast, even on the weekends when it's super jammed. There may have been a few times where it took a 3 or 4 minutes to get to a register but that's about it.

Living in Woodbridge I'm smack in the middle between the Allen Park and 8 Mile locations. Allen Park definitely is a bigger store and the selection between them in apparent.

I'm curious if E. Jefferson[[especially east of E. Grand Blvd) has the amount of residences to support a Meijer. Locally, there is a lot of vacant space over there.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the former American Axle site on the Hamtramck/Detroit border. It's HUGE, right off of 75, and could serve a TON of people.

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Originally Posted by 5speedz34

Living in Woodbridge I'm smack in the middle between the Allen Park and 8 Mile locations. Allen Park definitely is a bigger store and the selection between them in apparent.

I'm curious if E. Jefferson[[especially east of E. Grand Blvd) has the amount of residences to support a Meijer. Locally, there is a lot of vacant space over there.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the former American Axle site on the Hamtramck/Detroit border. It's HUGE, right off of 75, and could serve a TON of people.

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A Meijer on East Jefferson would definitely cause the prices at Parkway, Indian Village and Harbortown markets to decrease. My major concern will always be a lack of inventory. I had to email the Whole Foods corporate office because the Detroit store is not comparable to the Arlington Texas location that I used to patronize. If the major chains would stop treating their Detroit stores like the STEP sister, I would be a happy camper!

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Originally Posted by Mzsuzuki

A Meijer on East Jefferson would definitely cause the prices at Parkway, Indian Village and Harbortown markets to decrease. My major concern will always be a lack of inventory. I had to email the Whole Foods corporate office because the Detroit store is not comparable to the Arlington Texas location that I used to patronize. If the major chains would stop treating their Detroit stores like the STEP sister, I would be a happy camper!

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Probably would put those 3 locally-owned markets out of business, too. So one mediocre Meijers is better than that?

The stores have to stock their inventory based on what the folks who make up majority of their demographic want. Otherwise, they wouldn't make a profit.

More than likely, most of the shoppers at 8 mile and Woodward probably aren't interested in buying the items they don't stock.

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Originally Posted by downtownguy

Probably would put those 3 locally-owned markets out of business, too. So one mediocre Meijers is better than that?

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IMO, yes. That's capitalism. If these markets were offering what customers wanted in the first place [[which they may not), everyone wouldn't flock to the new Meijer.

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Originally Posted by corktownyuppie

Of course, it's no surprise, that the level of customer service you're getting is related to the general education level of the surrounding pool of employees.

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That's a ridiculous assertion. The reality is the buck stops with management.

If their employees aren't providing acceptable customer service, they should have a process in place for corrective action and implement it accordingly.

If there aren't enough employees scheduled at any given time to provide their high volume of customers with acceptable service, then they should hire more help. Since the auto industry collapse, it seems most business owners in Michigan have sacrificed customer service by operating on skeleton crews and keeping payroll expenses low to remain profitable. That's not a sustainable way to do business.