No Grocery Stores In Detroit, eh?

[DetroitDad]

I've been stopping by Kim's on a regular basis, there produce blows Walmart, Meijer, and others right out of the water.

That being said, what is the deal with this recent article about there being no other grocery stores in Detroit? Do they not realize that there are two decent super markets down the street from them?

There is a Farmer Jacks sized store of similar quality. It's on St. Antoine and Warren. The other supermarket is on Warren and the Lodge Motorway.

Click here for a map of the three locations in question. Kim's Produce is #1, Food Pride Spartan Supermarket is #2, and University Foods is #3.

I really love this place [[all of their wraps are addicting), but why on Earth would anyone think there are no grocery stores or super markets in [[Midtown) Detroit?

[sumas]

I think people mean Meijers, Super K, Walmart etc. I don't care for big box stores and shop my local markets. I get great prices and quality foods. Also like knowing the owners and staff and the personal touches one finds in smaller stores. In fact am heading over to Luckeys on Warren to stock up on Strip steaks for $2.99 a pound.

[English]

There's also Honeybee, Goodwells and the Eastern Market. But I think they're meaning the big box chains like Kroger's. The argument is always that for a city this size, there should be far more retail, including grocery stores.

Speaking of butcher's, I'm wondering if Black Angus is still open on the Westside.

[313WX]

The problem is most Detroiters don't have access to Honeybee and University Foods. Beisdes, Kim's isn't a true grocery store [[just a fruit market).

And even then, majority of the alternatives [[around 50 or so unimpressive markets) outweighs these 3 or 4 gems. I wouldn't dare puchase my meat or produce from the average market in the city. Plus nearly all of them lack the type of service you get with chain stores like a pharmacy, deli and bakery counter [[even Mike's Bakery counter isn't fresh but pre-packaged by Kroger's distributor and they closed Kroger's Pharmacy counter at their east side location).

[Danny]

Detroit has oodles of groceries stores, not the corporate chains like Kroger's Whole Foods, Meijers, Shopper's Market ect.. Detroit just has classic mom and pop Chaldean owned Spartan Supermakets. They are the ones keep the mostly black community afloat while white owned Supermarket Chains stay in the suburbs. We should the thank the Chaldeans to doing their part in the ghettohoods of Detroit. They can take the blights and customer fights all the time.

[DetroitPlanner]

I was about to mention one of the same things Danny did. There are a lot of well run Spartan Stores in the City, including the one I go to, Fair Line. There is a SuperK within the Detroit limits [[granted its right on the border, but it counts). If you go into SW Detroit there are lots of Supermarkets.

[GOAT]

There, their, they're.....hmmm which one??

[Detroitej72]

Detroit has oodles of groceries stores, not the corporate chains like Kroger's Whole Foods, Meijers, Shopper's Market ect.. Detroit just has classic mom and pop Chaldean owned Spartan Supermakets. They are the ones keep the mostly black community afloat while white owned Supermarket Chains stay in the suburbs. We should the thank the Chaldeans to doing their part in the ghettohoods of Detroit. They can take the blights and customer fights all the time.

F.Y.I. Shopper's Market is Chaldean owned.

[Detroit_uke]

E&L, HoneyBee

[fryar]

I think people mean Meijers, Super K, Walmart etc.

Yeah, or in the absence of that, something compelling like Kim's sounds like it might be.
I think I used to drive past that supermarket on Warren while driving up to the 24-hour CVS on late-night shopping runs. Just like the supermarket on Lafayette [[I think) a mile or two east of downtown/the CBD, there did not seem to be anything really compelling about it. It looked old and dinky, like it probably had bad lighting, narrow aisles, an unimaginative offering of foods, maybe no deli counter or bakery... the kind of place that's great for off-brand bologna packages and canned sweet corn, but rough for folks who want to do something a little out of the ordinary [[ not very, just a little - like buying a six pack of supermarket eclairs). God forbid you should have a Saturday morning's hankering for a Riverwalk picnic with a baguette and marmelade.
Apparently, Honey Bee has awesome store-brand tortilla chips and salsa [[do I remember that right from the other thread?). So they have something compelling going on. But what is out there seems to be pretty uncompelling, for the most part.
So when you live there by choice, like I did, you probably end up driving out to the burbs from time to time in order to buy some frozen Indian food, a French bread, organic sugar-free jam, freshly made non-Entenmann's baked goods, and so on. And those are probably the only city-dwellers this journalist knows, ergo her perception that there are no supermarkets in Detroit.
FWIW, I think she's making the right point about Kim's, but it's true that things aren't quite as bad as she says they are.

[softailrider]

Don't forget about the soon-to-be Meijers on Woodward near State Fair. It ought to have a great foundation - they've been getting the dirt perfect for about a year now.

[Crumbled_pavement]

I think people mean Meijers, Super K, Walmart etc

There is a Super K or K-Mart w/ grocery store in Detroit.

[DetroitDad]

The problem is most Detroiters don't have access to Honeybee and University Foods. Beisdes, Kim's isn't a true grocery store [[just a fruit market).

And even then, majority of the alternatives [[around 50 or so unimpressive markets) outweighs these 3 or 4 gems. I wouldn't dare puchase my meat or produce from the average market in the city. Plus nearly all of them lack the type of service you get with chain stores like a pharmacy, deli and bakery counter [[even Mike's Bakery counter isn't fresh but pre-packaged by Kroger's distributor and they closed Kroger's Pharmacy counter at their east side location).

Food Pride on St. Antoine and Warren: http://www.foodpridedetroit.com/

The inside is fine, but the outside is a mess. The owner's are trying to address this and [[I think) are making slow upgrades the best they can, as it looks a little better every time I go there. They did finally get ride of the awful Farmer Jack sign tower, and replace it with a nicer one.

[Quonset Hut]

Last I looked at their website, there are over eighty Spartan Stores in Detroit.

[Ravine]

There, their, they're.....hmmm which one??

What is your point? Nothing wrong with the usage of "there" in that post.

[stasu1213]

Detroit has oodles of groceries stores, not the corporate chains like Kroger's Whole Foods, Meijers, Shopper's Market ect.. Detroit just has classic mom and pop Chaldean owned Spartan Supermakets. They are the ones keep the mostly black community afloat while white owned Supermarket Chains stay in the suburbs. We should the thank the Chaldeans to doing their part in the ghettohoods of Detroit. They can take the blights and customer fights all the time.

You have to be joking. These moms and pops Chaldean markets add to the blight and decay of Detroit. They sell outdated products, bad meats produce, and very poor customer service. The city had always been laxed in sending inspectors to these markets and stores. Someone who work in city government is getting paid under the counter not to send inspectors out to these stores.Once Detroit becomes a majority middle class city again you will see a deline of Chaldean owned markets, liquor stores, and gas stations. Now that Detroit is predominately black, it will stay the same.

[Danny]

You have to be joking. These moms and pops Chaldean markets add to the blight and decay of Detroit. They sell outdated products, bad meats produce, and very poor customer service. The city had always been laxed in sending inspectors to these markets and stores. Someone who work in city government is getting paid under the counter not to send inspectors out to these stores.Once Detroit becomes a majority middle class city again you will see a deline of Chaldean owned markets, liquor stores, and gas stations. Now that Detroit is predominately black, it will stay the same.

Few Chaldean owned supermarkets in Detroit ghettohoods sell poisons to the black community, but not all. If all of them did, their stores would be burn down without reason or why. It happen to some Chaldean owned stores in Detroit. Therefore they have to be very careful while doing business in the Black community.


WORD FROM THE STREET PROPHET

When opening a business a black community, be a SOUL BROTHER or no brother.

Neda, I miss you so.

[REL]

DetroitDad, I think you and a few others mis-read the article. She said no "major" grocery stores, which is true. There is no Kroger, Trader Joe's, no Whole Foods, no Plum Market. There is a K-Mart on Telegraph near Redford [[in fact, I thought it WAS in Redford) but that is one store on the outer border.

Bottom line is, in her area, the neighborhood is underserved and she is a welcome addition to the Midtown area. Her stuff is fresh and affordable, a rare combination in Detroit.

My hat's off to other grocers in the area. I filled a hand-basket at E&L the other day for about $12, which would have cost about $20 at my local Kroger.

[gibran]

How can one evern respond....if it wasn't for the immigrant grocers ..many of the things our country stand for would be a sham... It has been always the occupations ...does any on eever ask what these people did in the old country? Yes I am aware o fthe stereo type...ARab grocery...Korean Grocer...etc. well how do you expect these people to enter our society.. I know many Pita Palces that are run by Doctors an dEngineers...who can't practice here so they make a livinf somehow....
yes there has been parasites hurting the poor communities...but there have been som ewho are willing to start business in areas where mainstream refused to do... I have seen the problem played out in many cities... Local banks need to help establish locally owned business w/the sam e committment to majority customers...but there are standards that need to be adjusted to give minority ownership a fighting chance.

I worked with local churched to support a grocery store in what we call "food deserts"...after being robbed a few times they were ready to give it up...until th ecommunity an dpolice got together to support it...Church shopping days...citizen patrols and all theold folks coming to gether to shop there..it turned a potentially bad thing into a community thing...the result...our kids get fresh meats an dveggies...vs buying spam at the 7/11

[Fury13]

Are there any stores located in Detroit that carry organic produce or naturally raised/organic beef? I wouldn't mind doing some shopping in the city on my way home from work sometime.

[REL]

Fury13- Kim's sometimes has organic produce [[had canteloupes last week) and a lot of organic foods from Eden & other producers. She is working on getting organic meats, but it's not offered at this time.

[Fury13]

Fury13- Kim's sometimes has organic produce [[had canteloupes last week) and a lot of organic foods from Eden & other producers. She is working on getting organic meats, but it's not offered at this time.

Great, thanks for the info.

[Supersport]

Atlas Market on Davison near Linwood is also a very nice store, with a decent selection of produce and meats. Can't speak on the prices, as I've only stopped in while on patrol. I can say that the owners/employees were very friendly and that they do a great job of keeping the place nice.

[English]

REL, I hear you. In most locales, the major chains promote even more independent store growth. For instance, now that there are many other places in Midtown to get your morning chai than when I last worked there, in my opinion, Avalon is far more busy than it ever was in my teaching days. Can't do them if I'm running late before a campus meeting, so as I adjust to things, I've learned to plan ahead. Stores in Detroit being crowded is something I'm not used to -- it is a good thing.

I'd expect the same principle to apply to grocery stores. Once the Woodward corridor south of Grand Boulevard gets either a Super Target, a Plum Market, or a Trader Joe's, you know most poor and lower working class will not be able to afford to live there. [[I think that we're at least a decade away from having the incomes that are willing to pay Plum Market prices, which at the A2 location are comparable to Zaccaro's - it's actually cheaper to shop Whole Foods' discount 365 brand than PM.)

313WX, why do you say that most Detroiters don't have access to the stores I've noted? I grew up deep in the inner city and we went wherever needed to shop within city limits.

[terryh]

There, their, they're.....hmmm which one??

Shall we speak the queens english on this right honorable informative forum? If I many add, WRITE the queens english.