mtburb
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Meanwhile, the Southgate Meijer renovation has officially been concluded.
The grand reopening was a pretty neat experience. There were plenty of activities to do, a lot more lines were open than normal and there were even personalities from a local radio station.
The Southgate Meijer is now all-out ready to go one-on-one with a forthcoming Kroger Marketplace that continues taking shape right across Fort Street in the former Super Kmart building.
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The Northville Meijer (Haggerty and 8 Mile) also has those types of glass entrance structures, as does the Meijer along US 127 on the east side of Jackson. They are original to both stores and both stores also once featured similarly-curved structures connecting the entrances, but that section was taken out and replaced with an arch in late-90's renovations to those stores.
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4 hours ago, mpchicago said:
Meijer closing 2 more small format stores in Chicagoland
Earlier this year Meijer also closed a small format store in Niles, IL. There were also tentative plans to open another small format store in Morton Grove, IL too. I suspect those plans have been scrapped due to the failure of the similar stores in suburban Chicago. It seems that Meijer has not had success with smaller format over the years, i.e., Meijer Square format. Hopefully lessons learned as plans move forward to open a small format store on Grand Rapids' near west side. It would seem that they might have better luck with that store, as Meijer is a well known and "trusted" brand in Grand Rapids.
Aren't they also supposed to open a small-format store in Detroit near the Little Caesar's Arena as well?
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15 hours ago, pcdoctor said:
Shown here is the layout of the Alpine Meijer store #20. Took this today while there.
Interesting how they still have the old 3D style of interior maps, they stopped doing that ten years ago if I recall correctly and replaced with a flat 2D style with fewer colors like that Ludington layout map you posted at the bottom of the previous page. There is a Meijer in Noblesville, Indiana (suburban Indianapolis) that too still has 3D-styled interior layout maps.
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On 3/15/2017 at 10:12 PM, pcdoctor said:
Here is the store directory map for the Ludington, MI store. This was taken back in 2013. Not sure what if anything has changed since this.
From looking at photos posted on Google Maps' listing for this store, the layout remains the same as of this year.
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The renovation of the Southgate store has begun. Floor tile will be removed from the general merchandise area tonight. Expect lots of headaches through August!
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1 hour ago, pcdoctor said:
Another Meijer store that needs a remodel if it hasn't been done is the Ludington, MI store. Went to that one in 2013 and it has/had the very old signage from several years back. That store would have to go down in the major overhaul category.
That stored opened in 2000 and it's green grocery signs/teal checkout number signs/village-inspired general merchandise signs (including one that has the old MEIJER logo!) are all original to that store. There is a same-vintage store near Bay City that was renovated last year and I believe there is also a same-vintage store in Indiana near the I-69/Toll Road interchange that also still has the same green grocery signs/teal checkout number signs/village-inspired general merchandise signs it had when it opened in 2000.
While we're on the topic of stores that should need a renovation soon, there's a Meijer in Bowling Green, Ohio that hasn't been touched inside since it opened in 1999! Despite receiving the current logos and even a repaint of the bands and gable roofs from red to blue, it still has the same red grocery signs/teal checkout number signs/teal general merchandise signs it had when it opened. At that condition, it would also be placed in the major overhaul category.
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So by August we should create a log thread here in this section for the Alpine Avenue Meijer renovation project like the one that was made for it's most recent renovation in 2006-07...
August also happens to be the month when the Southgate Meijer renovation wraps up, but I've already created a log thread for that store, but it may almost be entirely me, since the Detroit section is otherwise dead despite all the ongoing or proposed projects going on there.
Anyways, let's hope Tamais will be back on this forum by August too, as he lives not far from the Alpine Avenue Meijer and provided major contributions to the 2006-07 log thread.
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On 3/3/2017 at 1:13 PM, pcdoctor said:
According to this article, it looks like the Alpine Meijer is going to get a remodel as well. Not sure of what all they plan to do at that store yet.
http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2017/03/these_22_meijer_stores_will_be.html
Well, shall we create a log thread for that location's renovation similar to the thread that was made to log the 2006-07 renovation?
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Back in July I decided to spend a couple days at my cottage in southern Ogemaw County (yes, I'm still yearning for the day that Meijer opens a store in West Branch) and directly adjacent to my route was one active Meijer store and the empty lot that once contained another. Here's the first one.
Store Number: 185
Address: 800 Brown Road, Auburn Hills, Michigan 48326
Phone Number: (248) 393-5100 (always had this number)
Opening Date: August 27, 2000
In-Store Tenants: Great Clips, Bellacino's Pizza & Grinders, Huntington Bank
215,591 Square Feet
This store opened across I-75 from Great Lakes Crossing almost two years after the mall itself opened. It's market reach covers northern Auburn Hills as far as Oakland University, far northern Pontiac, Lake Angelus, the southern three-fourths of Orion Township, the southwest corner of Oakland Township, the far northwest corner of Rochester Hills, the far northeast corner of Waterford Township and the southeast corner of Independence Township, previously split up between the Waterford and Rochester Road stores. This is also the closest Fred to the Palace of Auburn Hills, which is the current home of the Pistons (of which Fred is one of the major sponsors) until the end of the current NBA season (2016-17) and thus has hosted many Pistons community events over the years. It was among the few Meijer stores built with the first (and my favorite of the three) Village Square architectural design prototype, which was short-lived due to it's shear construction costs. It's only renovation occurred around 2009 and resulted in it's current interior layout.
Apologies for the poor shot, this was the best one I have. The fake storefronts which give the Village Square design it's name are distinctly visible here.
And here's the Meijer that no longer exists:
Store Number: 28
Address: 4333 West Pierson Road, Flint, Michigan 48504
Phone Number: (810) 732-3100 (1993-2015, originally (313) 732-3100)
Opening Date: October 3, 1972
Closing Date: May 19, 2015
232,235 Square Feet
This was the first Meijer store in Genesee County and featured a balcony like other early Meijer supercenters. It's last renovation was sometime in the 1990's, but I am certain that it wasn't this store's first renovation. In later years, shoplifting was a major problem, partially due to the high crime in the neighborhoods only a mile east, this was ulitmately the impetus for Meijer's decision to shutter the store completely in 2015. The photos I took looking towards the site had trees blocking the entire view, so here's a Google Street View of the store pre-closure.
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If anyone wants to keep tabs of the Southgate renovation I have created this thread in the Detroit section plus a Facebook group. From what a cashier told me when I went to that store a couple days ago it's supposed to start sometime in March.
Expect a Sketchup rendering of how this renovation will likely turn out much in the vein of tamais6's renderings...
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Time to do this again...
Openings and renovations for 2017
New store openings
Indiana
- Franklin
- McCordsville
Michigan
- Escanaba
- Sault Ste. Marie
Wisconsin
- Greenfield
- Howard
- West Bend
Existing store renovations
Each store will have white-and-tan interiors with signs in Roland and will more than likely be an Eyebrow Type C design once their renovation is complete, so their current exterior designs are included.Illinois
- Algonquin (opened 2001, Village Square Type A)
- Bloomingdale (opened 2005, Signature Series Type B)
- McHenry (opened 2002, Village Square Type C)
Indiana
- Goshen (opened 1995, Indiana Whimsical Pineapple)
- Indianapolis 96th Street (opened 1997, Presidential Type A)
- Jeffersonville (opened 1999, Presidential Type B)
- Richmond (opened 2000, Village Square Type B)
- South Bend (opened 1994, Indiana Whimsical Pineapple)
Kentucky
- Louisville Dixie Highway (opened 1998, Presidential Type A)
- Louisville Westport Road (opened 1998, Presidential Type A)
Michigan
- Algoma Township (opened 2004, Signature Series Type A)
- Commerce Township (opened 1992, Solarium-Style Glazing Window Wall, Light Brown Brick)
- Mount Pleasant (opened 1990, Solarium-Style Glazing Window Wall, Light Brown Brick)
- Northville (opened 1985, modified Curved Glass I with arch facade)
- Southgate (opened 1994, Indiana Whimsical Pineapple)
Ohio
- Cincinnati Marburg Avenue (opened 2003, Village Square Type C)
- Columbus Hillard-Rome Road (opened 1992, Solarium-Style Glazing Window Wall, Light Brown Brick)
- Eastgate (opened 1996, Southport)
- Grove City (opened 2008, Eyebrows Type B)
- Rossford (opened 2004, Signature Series Type A)
- West Chester (opened 1996, Southport)
Navigating through the Southgate store as it undergoes a change from Franklin Gothic to Roland signs sure would be fun (plus they already repainted the exterior in November), but it'll be interesting to see if they can fit the "WELCOME TO YOUR SOUTHGATE STORE" sign above the interior entrance doors (as it's glass from the doors to the ceiling), expect photos too...
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How many Meijer stores with red bands and roofs on the exterior are left in 2017 that haven't yet been repainted into blue? I know the Fraser store (remodeled into an Indiana Pineapple in 1994 after it's short-lived stint as a Sourceclub) still has it's red exterior.
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The Southgate store has been repainted as well. This store must've been done sometime between the 6th and the 16th of this month as when I went there on the 6th everything on this building that's blue was still red and when I went on the 16th it had been repainted and I decided to take this pic.
However when I went on the 6th the Fort Street sign and the gas station had already been repainted and I managed to pass the Trenton Road sign as it was being repainted.
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Openings and renovations for 2016
New store openings
Illinois- Flossmoor
- Round Lake Beach
Indiana
- Evansville
- Indianapolis
Kentucky
- Owensboro
Michigan
- Flat Rock
- Sturgis
Wisconsin
- Sussex
- Waukesha
Existing store renovations*
*(incomplete listing, 32 total including those not listed)
Each store will more than likely be an Eyebrow Type C design once their renovation is complete, so their current exterior designs are included.
Indiana- Fort Wayne (2 locations)
- Indianapolis (3 locations)
Michigan
- Allen Park (opened 2007, Eyebrow Type A)
- Burton (opened 1973, Discount Store-Style Type A)
- Clinton Township (opened 2008, Eyebrow Type B)
- Greenville (opened 2001, Village Square Type C)
- Holland Township (opened 2005, Eyebrow Type A)
- Lapeer (opened 1995, design is unique to store but borrows from later Southport design)
- Lenox (opened 2007, Eyebrow Type A)
- Marysville (opened 2005, Eyebrow Type A)
- Port Huron (opened 1997, Presidential Type B)
- Roseville (opened 1989, Solarium-Style Glazing Window Wall, Light Brown Brick)
- Royal Oak (opened 1977, Discount Store-Style Type B with gable entrance roofs)
- Shelby Township (opened 1989, Solarium-Style Glazing Window Wall, Light Brown Brick)
- Southfield (opened 2005, Eyebrow Type A)
- Wixom (opened 1996, Southport)
- Warren (opened 2006, Eyebrow Type B)
Unfortunately, this will mean that the red grocery and teal general merchandise signs at the Burton location will have to come down.Also...could we finally see our first small-format urban Fred as part of the new Red Wings arena?
"And within six months — two months after this National Hockey League season ends in June with — a series of substantial milestones, including major tenants such as a large grocery store and hotel, are expected to be announced.
Among those seriously being courted is Walker, Mich.-based Meijer Inc., which has been exploring conceptual plans for smaller stores to fit in dense urban areas, according to Olympia Development of Michigan executives and other real estate sources."
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Today I took a bus ride out to the Southland Center and I decided to walk into the Taylor Meijer. I haven't been in that particular Meijer since 1994, just before the Southgate Meijer opened. When I last went in 1994, the interior felt like I was in a labyrinth. Produce wasn't even in the front. The general merchandise section was such a mess: for example VHS tapes and laserdiscs were in one area and CDs in a completely different area, the pet and garden section was tucked in some unknown corner, the garden center entrance was well hidden and difficult to find and of course the pharmacy was way in the back.
Store Number: 35
Address: 14640 Pardee Road, Taylor, Michigan 48180
Phone Number: (734) 287-3300 (since December 1997, originally (313) 287-3300)
Opening Date: July 19, 1977 as the first Meijer store in the Downriver Detroit suburbs.
In-Store Tenants: Golden Knight Hair Design, Huntington Bank, Nail Spa
236,586 Square Feet
This Meijer store opened seven years after Southland Center itself opened across Pardee Road. It is served by three SMART routes, two of which start/end here. It's market reach covers Taylor except the northeast silver north of about Ecorse Road, pockets of Allen Park and Southgate, the eastern half of Romulus, Brownstown Township north of Sibley Road and small areas of Huron Township. This is also the closest Fred to Detroit Metro Airport. This store originally served much of southern Wayne County, but additional store openings narrowed the reach down to what I have just described. When this store first opened there was a children's area (hint hint: those Playplaces that McDonald's has slowly been phasing out within the past decade or so), but it was removed after a few years due to safety concerns. Speaking of McDonald's, this store in fact had one in the mid-1990's.
The 2013 renovation into the current format and Eyebrow-Style Entrances Type A exterior is only the third remodel in it's entire life. The first took place in 1991 and added the then-current Meijer logo and also had the interior that I mentioned at the start of this post. The second in 2001-02 changed the interior quite a bit and finally moved produce to the front.
And here's the pictures:
The exterior facade is a product of the third renovation. Originally, there were three entrances, one facing Eureka Road and two facing Pardee Road. For an idea, refer to the Sketchup rendering near the bottom of the previous page or download it here. The original rectangular appendages over two of the entrances were replaced with Dutch-styled gables from the Presidential Type A exterior prototype in the second remodel. Also notice that the bottle return area has it's own exterior entrance, with no interior access whatsoever.
There are 31 total checkout lanes, including eight total small-size U-Scan lanes and four full-size U-Scan lanes. Notice the drop ceiling? The entire store is drop ceiling, with no visible roof trusses. This makes the store seem smaller than it actually is. The drop ceiling is 18 feet high.
Customer service alcove. Bigger than most Meijer stores, many services usually scattered along the front corridor are tucked in here, including Sandy, partially out-of-view on the right.
The produce area. On the right are the meals, deli, cakes and bakery counters. This resembles a newer Meijer store but with the drop ceiling it doesn't look quite as pleasing though.
Seafood and meat counters.
Clothing area. Notice how the hardwood floor is darker in newer Meijer clothing sections like this one.
Rear corridor. Notice the positions of the ceiling lights-they run parallel to the rear corridor but switch perpendicularly about where the side general merchandise corridor used to be (right about where the current sporting goods section intersects the rear corridor) right up until the third renovation when it was moved closer to the side wall to confirm to current Meijer standards.
Electronics area with the photo counter right in the center.
Seasonal area
What the store interior looks like now (above) and what it looked like after the second remodel (below, screenshot of an archived PDF from a Wayback Machine archive of the 2003 Meijer website)
Would've posted this sooner but Imgur decided to be a turtle today...
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On 1/29/2016 at 0:14 PM, Rybak 187 said:
So currently Meijer is building in the Milwaukee area. Next will be the Cleveland area where they are going on through the approval process. Now according to this article Meijer is looking into locations in the Minneapolis area. http://m.startribune.com/twin-cities-grocery-scene-likely-to-get-a-lot-more-competitive-soon/366888361/
Next thing you know, we'll start seeing articles pertaining to Meijer purchasing properties for future locations in the Pittsburgh area.
EDIT: Wait...Meijer already acquired a Pittsburgh-based pharmacy last year. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/meijer-acquires-aureus-health-services-300086717.html
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3 hours ago, Veloise said:
Probably because it's in the Grand Rapids heading. I'm reading your comments, but am skeptical of widespread interest in (for instance) a metro Detroit location changing up its signage palette.
If you're talking about the Burton store then that store is nowhere near Detroit at all. It's actually in the Flint suburbs.
EDIT: Ten years later we've reached the 50th page.
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On 5/6/2007 at 3:13 PM, tamias6 said:
Here's a good Google Earth image capture of the Lincoln Park location.
As seen here the building still looks like a Super K-mart on the outside. Although I'm sure Meijer had to made a few adjustments to the interior. However this building was a super center in the first place. So its pretty much ready made for Meijer. All good ol' Fred may have had to do is merely swap out K-mart's interior graphics program with his own, hang Meijer Signs outside, and boom, we have a Meijer store.
Does anybody know how long it took for Meijer to convert this building? I'm guessing six months if that from initial purchase to grand opening.
I apologize for bumping such an old reply, but I have some information about this Meijer. It is located at Dix Highway and Emmons Boulevard just a mile south of I-75 and a few blocks west of Fort Street. The building first opened as a Super Kmart in 1994, the site was before then two additional sets of the radio transmitters that remain to this date to the west of the Meijer property. This Kmart closed when they went bankrupt in 2003 and nearly two years later on November 9, 2004 Meijer took over. Here is a photo of this Meijer that I took in December 2014.
I remember there being articles in the News-Herald that covered this Meijer when it first opened. This one was one of the very first Meijer stores to open with the then-new Rockwell Group Limited interior layout from day one and, in fact, was the first Meijer to open with the incorporation the current location of the pharmacy in the general merchandise section next to the entrance. If you compare the Google Earth image from circa 2002 in the quoted 2007 reply to the 2014 photo above, the garden center had to be moved closer to Dix to accommodate an extension to the building itself to make room for the pharmacy and parts of the seasonal area. However, the interior is slightly different from similar-vintage Meijer stores due to the shape of the building. Here's a photo by Nicholas Eckhart showing the layout map.
Another interesting thing is that shortly after this Meijer opened, work began to retrofit the Southgate Meijer into the Rockwell Group Limited interior, which was completed by late 2005. It took until 2007 for the new sign to appear though.
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This thread was created in April 2006 and nearly ten years later looks like I'm the only one keeping this thread alive. Must've started dying when Fred himself did. XD
Anyways, you will not believe what Fred still offers as of today.
Also, I discovered archived old store map PDFs through Wayback Machine archives of previous Meijer sites and that inspired me to conjure up a map of what the Southgate Meijer looked like back when it opened.
Lastly I leave you with this rendering of a Sketchup I created of what the Taylor Meijer looked like back in the 90's. I edited the original pic a bit further to make it look like an authentic old photograph.
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I have posted a link to download my version of the under-construction Flat Rock Meijer. I hope you enjoy.
https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model.html?id=u0dff48bd-da2f-421d-8ea5-2da4f8a746b2You will need Sketchup 8, 2013, 2014, 2015 or 2016.
If you can't view it, here are a couple screenshots.
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If anyone didn't know last year Meijer appears to have released a new interior graphics program and the first one since before 2003 that almost doesn't make any use of the Franklin Gothic font. Currently, only the 11 stores Meijer opened last year have this new graphics program.
One will notice the new program right away with a large sign reading "WELCOME TO YOUR (location) STORE" in a font similar to Leelawadee. The department signs, directory signs, grocery aisle numbers and checkout numbers are now all in a font similar to Roland. The produce, bakery, deli, meat and seafood sections have new canopies with colors depending on the section (produce uses dark green, bakery uses red, deli uses blue, meat and seafood use off-black) also set in the font similar to Roland except for the "SINCE 1934" tagline.
The first eight entries in the link below contain good examples of this new graphics program.
http://newsroom.meijer.com/multimedia/categories/events/store-openings
Also, I've noticed recent photos showing that the Burton store is still using the old red grocery aisle signs, teal department signs and gray checkout number signs, so this should be an interesting trip for those who still want to experience a classic Meijer.
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Here is a history of the various exterior architectural designs Meijer has used over the years as it grew from the first Thritfy Acres outpost in 1962 to having over 200 such stores across six states today.
EXTERIOR DESIGN ERAS:
- Discount Store-Style (1962-1985)
- Solarium-Style Atrium Entries, Dark Brown Brick (1979-1989)
- Solarium-Style Glazing Window Wall, Light Brown Brick (1989-1993)
- Whimsical Indiana Pineapple (1994-1996)
- Southport (1996-1997)
- Presidential (1996-2000)
- Village Square (1999-2005)
- Signature Series (2002-2007)
- Eyebrow-Style Entries (2005-present)
Upon observations of every active store either through personal knowledge or through Google Earth, I've discovered that each of these standard designs had their own variations which will be mentioned and that there were even periods when one prototype's run overlapped with that of a newer prototype. However, quite a few stores which were originally built under the previous prototypes have since been remodeled into an Eyebrow-Style Entries variation or even had their red bands and/or roofs repainted blue. Examples include Taylor (a former Discount Store-Style location from 1977), Midland (a 1992-era former Solarium-Style Glazing Window Wall, Light Brown Brick store); and Carmel, Indiana (a former Whimsical Indiana Pineapple store dating from 1994) (all three examples remodeled into Eyebrow-Style Entries Type C). Another example is the Findlay, Ohio store, which only received the Eyebrow-Style Entries appendages which extended to the stairs to that store's balcony.
Discount Store-Style (1962-1985)
This was the very first prototype used by the Thritfy Acres stores, the first partial instance being that of the Thritfy Acres expansion of the original store at 28th Street and Kalamazoo Avenue in Grand Rapids. Sadly, that well-known location was ultimately torn down and replaced by an Eyebrow Type A store in 2010. There were two different types of this design. Renovations of many stores in this design during the late 1990's added the Dutch-styled gabled entries from the Presidential prototype. There were four different types.
Type A featured rectangular box-shaped entries and a balcony which featured tenants not much different from today's in-store alcove tenants which each had windows along the store's front facade. This was debuted in 1962 by the store in Norton Shores and was used through the store in Burton in 1973.
Type B mostly removed the balcony (the few that still contained one no longer contained exterior windows). This began with the Airport Road store in Jackson on the same 1973 day the Burton store opened and was used through 1986 with the current Sterling Heights store, which was remodeled approximately 1997 into the Southport prototype. Certain stores, such as the 16th Street store in Holland, had windows running along the front corridor facing the checkouts.
Type C had angled box-shaped entries and were clad in dark brown brick. This was used only on the two Saginaw stores, both of which opened in 1980.
Type D combined much of the aesthetics of Type C with the straight box entries of Type A. This was first seen on the Adrian store in 1981 and was discontinued with the Waterford store in 1985, although that store contains certain aspects of the Solarium-Style Atrium Entries, Dark Brown Brick exterior.
A revival of sorts of Type B was used by the four small-format Meijer (Marketplace) stores that opened in suburban Chicago between 2010 and 2012.
Solarium-Style Atrium Entries, Dark Brown Brick (1979-1989)
East Michigan Avenue-Jackson, MI (Store 56). Built in 1986, this store is a typical example of a Solarium-Style Atrium Entries, Dark Brown Brick store that was remodeled with the center arch structure. (January 2012 photo)
After nearly twenty years of erecting supercenters, it was clear that it was the perfect opportunity for Meijer to devise up a new exterior design. Prototyped by the 54th Street/Clyde Park Avenue location in Wyoming in 1979, the entrances to that store were the Type D style but was covered in solarium-style near-black windows. It wasn't until a new MEIJER logo was introduced in 1983 that this prototype went into use when the original Greenville supercenter (old store 1) was remodeled into an extension of the design that added an extension of the solairum-style wall between the grocery and center entrances, which was in solid white and contained the store sign. The first new store to be built in this prototype was the Wilder Road store in Bay City in 1984 and lasted until the Ann Arbor-Saline Road store in Ann Arbor in 1989.
Renovations to certain stores of this design during the 1990's replaced the original solid white solairum-style wall in the center of the front facade with an arch-shaped structure containing the MEIJER Fresh sign which in turn in subsequent remodels were replaced by the new logo.
Expansions in this Era
Beginning in 1980, Meijer would launch several short-lived concepts, such as three clothing store chains, a standalone pharmacy called Spaar; and a concept called Meijer Square, which was essentially a Meijer without the grocery section. In 1981, Meijer expands outside Michigan, acquiring several former Twin Fair stores in Ohio and converting them into Meijer Square stores. Meijer now operates stores in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Wisconsin as well as of 2015. In 1984, Meijer would see it's first supercenter in Ohio, a Solarium-Style Atrium Entries, Dark Brown Brick store in Newark, about 45 minutes east of the capital city of Columbus. Unfortunately, that store was shuttered permanently in 2013 and has been torn down.
In 1988, after years of experimenting with pushing the closing time further late, stores finally remained open for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 364 days a year, closing only on Christmas Day.
Solarium-Style Glazing Window Wall, Light Brown Brick (1989-1993)
Woodhaven, MI (Store 70). Built in 1990, this example of a Solarium-Style Glazing Window Wall, Light Brown Brick store has had the original red exterior bands repainted blue during a renovation of this store into the current interior format in 2011. (May 2015 photo)
In 1989, the Roseville store debuted a third standard design. In this prototype, the front facade is dominated by solarium-style glazing wall of curved windows which immensely flood the sales area with natural light. Continuing with the windows-and-glazing theme, the cafe contained a large arch window and the garden center was covered by a transparent arch-shaped canopy.
For unknown reasons, in 1991, the store number sequence jumped directly from 72 (Van Buren Township, MI) to 101 (demolished Harshman Road-Dayton, OH). The last store built in this design was the Alexis Road store in Toledo in 1993.
Whimsical Indiana Pineapple (1994-1996)
Southgate, MI (Store 123). Built in 1994, this store contains the typical "whimsical" shapes and roofing designs of the Whimsical Indiana Pineapple prototype. A Subway restaurant was recently built within the pineapple structure. (August 2014 photo)
A new, "whimsical" design prototype was introduced in 1994 with the first Indiana store on Grape Road in Mishawaka. Different shapes and roofing designs form the front facade of the building, including a Dutch-styled angled structure containing a red gable roof and four small windows each on all four sides next to the grocery entrance and a yellow pineapple structure containing one of two cafes, constructed from yellow ceramic brick and glass blocks. This prototype was devised as a way to introduce Meijer to Indiana as a "store of discovery".
This prototype also debuted the use of a large green translucent glass curtain wall above the alcove stores that allows natural light to filter in across the sales floor without the need for actual windows. This prototype also debuted gray concrete panels and silver framing on windows and doors.
In 1995, two stores were built with a dark teal pineapple instead-the first Illinois store in Champaign and the store on East Washington Street in Indianapolis. The store in Fraser, opened as a Source Club (a membership warehouse concept) in 1992 and converted into a full-fledged Meijer in 1994, combines the Whimsical Indiana Pineapple design with Source Club's exterior design of a large circular canopy at a corner of the building, which is today over that store's pharmacy drive-up window; and glass blocks over the canopy. Some later stores in this prototype made the glass blocks of the pineapple larger. The last store to open in this design was the store in Orange Township, Ohio (north of Columbus) in early 1996.
Southport (1996-1997)
This prototype was somewhat an interim transition prototype. It is the Whimsical Indiana Pineapple design without the varying shapes and roofing designs and with Dutch-styled gable entrances-red for grocery entrance and beige for general merchandise entrance. I took the name of this prototype from the first store to use it, the Southport Road store in Indianapolis, when that location opened in early 1996. It was used until the opening of the Michigan City, Indiana store in 1997. It is during this design era that Meijer sees it's first Kentucky store in Florence. An interesting application is the Fairfield, Ohio store, built in 1996, which combines the Southport and Presidential Type A prototypes.
Presidential (1996-2000)
This design is similar to the Southport prototype, but the gables are slightly different and the MEIJER (MEIJER Fresh on later stores of this prototype) sign was moved back to the center of the front facade. There were two very similar types with the same common traits of gable-roof entrances, center logo and translucent glass wall.
Type A uses light brown brick and dark green roofs. After being prototyped on the aforementioned Fairfield store, it was debuted in 1997 simultaneously on the same day on two stores: the Knapp's Corner store in Grand Rapids and the store on East 96th Street in Indianapolis. The last store built in this design was the Washington Township store in 2000.
Type B uses gray concrete panels and red roofs. Ran from the Fort Gratiot store in 1997 until the Coldwater store in 2000. Type B designs are typically smaller than their Type A counterparts.
Village Square (1999-2005)
A major renovation to the Cascade store in Grand Rapids (link to this example from a reply to this thread from September 2007) in 1999 debuted a new exterior design and the first to debut with the MEIJER Fresh sign from the start. There were three types, each with at least four fake building facades on the actual front facade, including one resembling a barn.
Type A contains the most amount of fake facades, a large barn structure containing the MEIJER Fresh sign and dark brown brick. After debuting at Cascade, the first new store built in this design was the Springfield, Illinois store in 2000. The last new store in this design was the White Lake Township store, built in 2005, which is somewhat of a curiosity, as the second-to-last Type A store was built in Algonquin, Illinois, in 2001. The White Lake store was also the last Meijer built without a pharmacy drive-up window. Whether how this was due to the White Lake store being delayed several years yet was still built in this design anyway is unknown. This also makes it the only Village Square prototype store that has always contained the new sign from the beginning.
Type B contains just four fake facades-a different, yet still barn-like, facade over the grocery entrance and three additional facades for the general merchandise entrance. The exterior is in light grayish-brown or reddish-brown brick. Debuted on the Richmond, Indiana store in 2000, ran until the Lowell store in 2001.
Type C contains a total of six fake facades, including a red one at the grocery entrance that resembles the front of a barn, but is flat unlike the other two types. This was originally intended to replace the other two types, but refer to the parts relating to the White Lake store under Type A. First used on the Shaver Road store in Portage in 2001 and last used on stores on Harrison Avenue and Marburg Avenue in Cincinnati that opened on the same day in 2003.
Signature Series (2002-2007)
In the first few years of the new millennium, Meijer found itself stuck in a bad situation resulting from increasingly intense competition, cutbacks and a recession that resulted from the 9/11 attacks. In response and to cut costs, Meijer debuted this prototype. It contained rectangular-shaped box entrances with a green roof and with entrance and exit corridors separated by a cart storage area. This prototype also debuted the drive-up pharmacy window and the current prefabricated construction method, which drastically cuts the cost of building a new store. There were two different types.
Type A places the pharmacy in the grocery section. Debuted by the Rivertown Crossings store in Grand Rapids in 2002 and was used through the Noblesville, Indiana store in 2004.
Type B moves the pharmacy back to the general merchandise section, but still at the front of the store, exactly as called for by the new interior design described below. First used by the Kalamazoo Avenue/M-6 store in Grand Rapids in 2005 and was last used on the Oswego, Illinois store in 2007.
A New Interior Design
In 2003, Meijer debuted a new interior design prototype designed by the Rockwell Group Limited firm of New York. This store map shows the interior of a typical store built or remodeled into this design. (Southgate, MI)
In 2003, the Cascade store was renovated again...this time to prototype a completely new interior, graphics and layout design created by New York City-based firm Rockwell Group Limited. This redesign was designed to bring Meijer's general merchandise offerings on equal footing with it's grocery section and propel Meijer into the new millennium by providing a more hip, upscale image, which even included redesigning the logo, all in various forms of a lowercase Franklin Gothic font. This prototype was so successful that nearly all stores built or remodeled since then employ this interior design. Major changes included wider grocery aisles, the creation of a new electronics section dubbed E4, moving the pharmacy to the front of the general merchandise section and making the cereal shelves the same height as the rest of the grocery aisles rather than have it 15 feet tall. The Cascade store was renovated to a new interior design again in 2007, but despite that, this design remains in use.
Eyebrow-Style Entries (2005-present)
With the aforementioned interior redesign also came yet another exterior design and the first to be designed with the new sign from the start. This design is broken into three different types, but each have the same common trait of box-shaped entrances towering over the rest of the store building and covered in glass windows in an eyebrow-like appearance, therefore giving the name I assigned to this prototype.
Type A places the roofs of the entrances on a diagonal angle, giving a sense of more space. Debuted by the Holland Township store in 2005.
Type B has a gable roof for the entrances, sometimes even including additional roofing designs. Debuted by the Warren store in 2006.
Type C has the entrances given a flat roof. These entrance variations were prototyped in the late 2000's on the Cascade and Findlay, Ohio stores. Debuted in full in a renovation of the Knapp's Corner store in 2013.
Type CD is a sub-variant of Type C that only places one entrance to the store at the center of the front facade. This design is used by both of Meijer's stores within the city of Detroit, therefore, the D in CD stands for Detroit.
One-Offs
Despite all the standardized exterior designs, a handful of stores contain their own exterior designs instead, used only by their respective stores. These stores include Lincoln Park (which reuses the exterior from it's previous tenant, Super Kmart), East Lansing; Findlay, Ohio; the demolished store on 16 Mile Road in Sterling Heights, Owosso-Corunna, Lapeer and Hartland Township.
I hope you enjoyed this trip through the history of Meijer's many architectural designs. This took quite a while to compose.
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39 minutes ago, mpchicago said:
I remember this from when I was I kid, as Meijer used this song in their commercials. Instead of repeating "Have a Merry Christmas" the ad sang, "Have a Merry Christmas, a Merry Meijer Christmas."
I remember that somewhat too! I also still remember back when the Taylor Meijer was the only one in my area, but then the Newport DC went up and it resulted in a great number of new stores opening across the Detroit area.
Speaking of which...I just a couple days ago completed this on the Myhistro website, building off of that store openings list I linked to above your post. Soon I may post a history of Meijer's various architectural exterior prototypes on this thread.
Meijer
in Grand Rapids Coffee House
Posted
Looks like the downtown Grand Rapids small-size concept isn't the only small-size concept Meijer is working on, one will be included in an upcoming apartment development in downtown Detroit as well.
New Meijer store, 200-plus apartments planned for East Jefferson in Detroit