Valu Land, a Discount Grocer, Coming to Dearborn
Valu Land is moving into the building on Michigan Avenue that was once home to Michaels.
West downtown Dearborn is getting a new grocery store but it isn’t a Trader Joe’s as many had hoped for in the past.
Spartan Stores Inc. plans to open a new Valu Land store in the building that was once home to Michaels arts and craft store.
Michaels, readers of Deepsaidwhat.com will recall, moved its store in 2008 to Allen Park. Valu Land will be the new neighbor to ACO Hardware, the second-hand store Goodwill and the Family Dollar, which opened in 2011.
Valu Land is Spartan’s version of Aldi, a discount grocery store with no brand name products. Valu Land is also designed to compete with Save-A-Lot and even dollar stores. Many of the products lining the shelves of Valu Land will be the grocer’s own Spartan brand or the discounted brand Valu Time.
This smaller Valu Land is a new direction for Spartan Stores, a Byron Township, Michigan-based grocer which operates about 100 stores across the state under the banners of D&W Fresh Market, Family Fare Supermarket, VG’s Grocery and Glen’s Market.
Spartan Stores opened the first of three Valu Land locations in 2011 in three smaller cities — Marion, Leslie and Clare, in north-central Michigan — and a fourth store earlier this year in Lansing Township, the only store that was not a conversion from another banner. The Lansing store is located in a shopping plaza that houses a Volunteers of America Thrift Store, Rite Aid and Dollar General store. Similar to the new Dearborn location.
In addition to Dearborn, Spartan Store officials have said the company plans to open Valu Land stores in Warren and Roseville — metro Detroit cities that have a “larger population base in the surrounding prime trade area” than its other stores.
The company hopes this new model store will help the grocery retailer expand beyond its Michigan borders. The grocer’s wholesale distribution business supplies more than 350 independent grocery stores across Michigan, and northern Ohio and Indiana.
November 13th, 2012 at 5:17 pm
A skid row or skid road is a run-down or dilapidated urban area with a large, impoverished population. The term originally referred literally to a path along which working men skidded logs. Its current sense appears to have originated in the Pacific Northwest.[1] Examples are the Downtown Eastside in Vancouver; Pioneer Square, Seattle, Washington;[2] Old Town Chinatown, Portland, Oregon;[3] Skid Row in Los Angeles, and San Francisco’s Tenderloin District. And 2012/13 Dearborn, Mich. USA.
November 14th, 2012 at 2:52 pm
Bill are you saying this area is now skid row?
November 14th, 2012 at 3:16 pm
How many full size groceries stores can you put next door and across the road from each other? With the Goodwill, and a now a ghetto grocery, all that will be missing is an unemployment office, a plasma donation center and a pawn shop. Seriously, I remember Kroger used to have enough bargains for the local neighborhood…..and there’s always Panera Cares too.
November 14th, 2012 at 3:19 pm
(And if this is Spartan’s version of an “Aldi”, have at it. If you have nothing to do but stand in line behind 20 people waiting for 1 cashier, have at it. Although my funds were low when visiting an Aldi, I did have other things to do…..like go to work).
November 14th, 2012 at 3:19 pm
Bill – I get it. And you are correct, sir! West Dearborn has become a skid-row!! We have gone from the Penthouse to the Sh–house in a few short years!!! These City Planner people can tell me how great the Hookah Bars and Dollar Stores are going to be, and that Fatburger is just around the corner so many times, but the reality is – – we have become a SKID-ROW!!!! Thank you leadership, and don’t blame it on the economy either. Other cities are doing great!!
November 15th, 2012 at 8:56 am
Yeah, which ones are doing ‘great’? http://www.grubb-ellis.com/Forecast2012/PDFs/Detroit_OFF_2012_1Q.pdf
With the exception of Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, and Ann Arbor, all the cities listed have almost equal or greater vacancy rates.
November 15th, 2012 at 10:05 am
I don’t get it. (Not that this forum is anything even close to a reasonable representation of the citizens of Dearborn)
A new store opens, you complain: “it’s ghetto”.
Newman has retail space that’s been vacant for a long time, you complain: “he’s a crook”.
A few pieces of art go up in vacant lots around West ‘Deerbern’, you complain: “what on earth is the city trying to do?”
A couple of businesses actually expand, you complain: “West ‘Deerbern’ has too many________ (insert car dealers, grocery stores, bars, restaurants, cell phone stores, dry cleaners, etc. here)
The city government votes to change some city services, you complain: “those idiots will drive ‘Deerbern’ into bankruptcy”
I’m beginning to wonder if the after-effects of whatever mind-altering substances that wer put into the water system here in the 60’s and 70’s is rearing its ugly head. Or is life so mundane that it leads you to have cloud over your head 24/7 and proliferate it here?
Yes, I’ll be the first to slap you a high five in agreement, that some are using the “worst economic conditions since the Great Depression” excuse to hide behind bad business practices that caught up with them (private AND public sector). But, my head is not shoved so deep (no pun) into the sand as not to recognize the prolific criminal activities of Mortgage companies (countrywide, et al.), Investment companies (bear stearns, merrill lynch), Insurance companies (AIG), Banks (too numerous to list), Government agencies (Freddie Mac, Fanny Mae, et al.) not to mention the 2008 gas price panic ($4.25/gal) and you had a recipe for a certain disaster that affected the world, the nation, Michigan, Wayne County and Dearborn.
Business is dynamic. It always was. It will continue to be.
For every “what’s wrong” point you make, there is a “what’s right” point right with it. Can business, government do better? Certainly. Can we do better? I say, emphatically, YES!
Become informed. Dearborn’s demographics have dramatically changed in the last 20 years. Would I personally like a Whole Foods in West Dearborn? You bet! But, the demographics would not support it, otherwise it would have been here years ago. Consider the following: Valu-Land opens. It will: a) meet the expectations of the Spartan Foods/Spartan Stores management and continue to exist. b) not meet their expectations of said company and close. Of course, that’s notwithstanding their rent remains within their guidelines, the store is managed well, etc.
I propose that business (as is life) is not an a+b=c correlation.
And, there are certain, key pieces of information that you will never, EVER be privy to, in any situation, in order for you to make “arm chair quarterback” statements like what has been posted here. Also, there are statements made by business representatives, in the press and online, that are oversimplified, inaccurate and borderline misleading.
That’s all for now. I’m going to over to Crowley’s to get a couple of new dress shirts, then over to Sanders for a hot fudge sundae, i need a new snow shovel from Montgomery Ward, I wanted to catch a movie at the Carmen and someone told me the decorations are up at the Rotunda. Have a Happy Day!
Anthony
November 15th, 2012 at 4:43 pm
The best way to determine which businesses come to Dearborn is to support the ones you like. Do you like Sophia’s? Shop there. Do you like Iversens? Shop there. Do you like Nicholls? Shop there. Do you like Dee’s Hallmark? …err nevermind. Stop complaining about paid parking and shape Dearborn yourself. People complain about the Hookah bars, but take a stroll around West Dearborn on a summer evening and notice that the busiest places are the hookah bars. The demand drives the supply.
I for one won’t shop there because I can’t fit another grocery store behind the Farm Market, Westborn, and the two Krogers. Maybe they’ll realize Dearborn has less low-income residents than they thought and move out, opening the door for something else to move into a freshly renovated store front.
November 16th, 2012 at 3:50 am
Dearborn (West anyway) was a stable community for generations. It’s demographics didn’t change over “20 years”, they changed drastically the last 2 years I was there.
November 16th, 2012 at 10:35 am
Stores offering extraordinary value are the trend…even in Beverly Hills. This from the LA Business Journal: 99 Cents on Rodeo Drive?
By Bethany Firnhaber – Originally published October 9, 2012
Deep discount retailer 99 Cents Only Stores on Tuesday said
it’s looking for space to open a store on famed Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills.
The chain is known for its humorous advertising, but the chief
executive told the Business Journal that he is serious about finding
space there. “Our stores do well with all income levels and all
demographics,” said Eric Schiffer. “Rich people like deals more than
anybody.”
However, the Rodeo Drive Committee, which is made up of merchants and property owners there, expressed deep skepticism. In a statement, it said: “Based upon some of the highest commercial retail rents in the world and the fact that Rodeo Drive is experiencing the street’s highest occupancy in recent memory, it is highly unlikely that a 99 Cents storewill ever open on the street. The company issued a similar statement 10 years ago, and the announcement never came to fruition.”
Jay Luchs, a broker for CBRE Group Inc. in West Los Angeles who
represents most properties on Rodeo Drive, said the announcement must be a joke. “It’s not true, obviously,” he said. As the store’s name implies, 99 Cents Only sells each item for less than $1. Rodeo Drive, by contrast, is one of America’s most luxurious shopping streets.
In Tuesday’s announcement, the Commerce company urged anyone with information about available retail space on the high-end shopping street to contact its real estate department. Schiffer, the CEO, agreed that finding affordable space would be a challenge.
November 17th, 2012 at 11:32 am
All:
We have gone from a “Top-Tier-City” – to near the bottom of a long list. We are just a cut above Ecorse, Highland Park, Lincoln Park, and Pontiac, maybe? Lincoln Park’s downtown is looking good!! Even bankrupt Allen Park, now, has a nicer downtown and (as everyone knows!) a better shopping district! Dearborn, a once proud City, has gone downhill fast – and a lot of residents are not happy about it! We now take a back seat to once considered “lowly” Cities like Wayne, Taylor (remember ‘tucky’?), Westland, Wyandotte, not to mention the obvious choices of – – Plymouth, Milford, Chelsea, Manchester, Ann Arbor, Novi, Saline, Northville, Dexter, South Lyon, Birmingham, Royal Oak, Franklin, Bloomfield,……and the list goes on & on. Sad! When is the last time we had this kind of good news? These, once second-tier, cities now have brick-paver walk-paths, park benches, street lights w/their City Flags, a great mix of businesses, etc. Seems like they had a “plan” and followed through with them? For example: WAYNE, Mich. – Nov. 11, 2012: “A 66-year-old movie theater in suburban Detroit is getting a 21st century face-lift. The venerable State Wayne theater in downtown Wayne has been refurbished. A grand re-opening ceremony is set for Saturday to unveil the new State Wayne Digital Theater. It’s to come at the conclusion of the annual Wayne Holiday Parade on Michigan Avenue. The public is invited to come inside and tour the newly renovated theater and get a behind-the-scenes look at the latest in digital projection Technology.The State Wayne theater was built in 1946. The City of Wayne retains ownership but has signed Phoenix Theaters to manage on a long-term contract.” Let’s get going Dearborn! I hope it is not too late!! Don’t like taking a back seat to City’s like Wayne!!
November 18th, 2012 at 9:12 pm
Wayne constructed a large parking structure ……for what I’ll never know…….and it was quickly filled with boats. Maybe W. Dearborn should do the same with their two.
November 18th, 2012 at 9:13 pm
And Dearborn tried the $1 “renovated” movie theater thing on Nowlin as well. After the neighboring communities got wind of it, it quickly became a tire store.
November 19th, 2012 at 1:59 am
Lee Corso writes: “We have gone from a “Top-Tier-City” – to near the bottom of a long list.”
That would be incorrect. Dearborn is nowhere “near the bottom of a long list.” Dearborn is in the category of “has-been.”
November 19th, 2012 at 9:41 pm
Deep, I’m hoping you can report on more details. I would like to know what the planning commission’s logic was. Why not a Trader Joe’s or a Whole Foods or an art house movie theater?
I get that the space has been vacant for years, and Dearborn needs to fill its bazillion empty store fronts, but we need a mix of stores that attract a variety of income-levels. I love the Panera Cares, and I think the Goodwill store is great too, but a discount grocery store, one that is akin to a dollar store? And another grocery store at that?
I’m an ambiance shopper. I love Westborn Market and Cafe con Leche in southwest Detroit, and other places where you don’t just go to buy, but to enjoy the atmosphere. I’m not alone in this. An Aldi-like store is like a fast food restaurant: get in, get out.
I’m hoping that there is a strategy involved here that will make this decision sensible.
December 5th, 2012 at 11:34 am
In case people haven’t noticed, for quite some time, most of the big chains, upscale and unique type of store models have moved to communities surrounding Dearborn, and/or Downriver. This gives them access to a much broader market, along with access to Dearborn without them having to go through our outdated, overly strict building codes, rules and regulations. As much as some might not like these lower end model type stores, until Dearborn gives the types of businesses residents want a reason to move to Dearborn, they won’t move here.
As far as Newman, regardless of what business model types are moving into his locations, this should at least tell us that when given a choice, they move into Newman’s retail suites, instead of the user-paid parking area suites. It is not hard to figure out the reasons for this.
December 20th, 2012 at 10:29 am
What is wrong with a low-cost grocery store? Shouldn’t poor people be able to find affordable food? The objections to opening Valu Land echo those made prior to the Goodwill opening: that Dearborn used to be a “classy” town and is now being ruined. I’ve lived here nearly 20 years, but grew up in Grosse Pointe. I’ve never thought of Dearborn as an upscale city. It never has been. It’s a working-class city with a significant number of educated professionals. Anyone who has lived here for any length of time knows this. I’ll continue to shop at ACO and Dearborn Music. I guess the rest of you will just have to find somewhere else to go given your disdain for the lower classes.
May 18th, 2013 at 10:40 am
I would like to see a Whole Foods come here, I want Non-GMO foods, I want farm fresh foods, from cows that graze on grass, non-caged chickens, no antibiotics and crap all stuck in the food. I would suggest all companies label their foods NON-GMO, I have seen a couple do this and what a great idea. Please read this Suppliers!!!