Meijer expects to open the first two stores based on its new Meijer Grocery concept on Jan. 26, 2023, the retailer announced Monday.
The locations, which are in the southeast Michigan communities of Orion Township and Macomb Township, will be between 75,000 and 90,000 square feet each — substantially smaller than the hundreds of supercenters Meijer operates across six Midwestern states.
Meijer announced in September that it was developing smaller-format locations in the Detroit-area communities and planned to open them early next year.
Meijer said the new grocery stores will be located in the vicinity of multiple supercenters it operates but will place a particular emphasis on providing a convenient-shopping experience built around items people typically buy on a regular basis. They will have produce, meat, deli, health and beauty care, pets and floral departments, and each will have a pharmacy.
The new stores also will carry products from a variety of local brands, according to Meijer. Those offerings will include baked goods from area bakeries Zingerman’s, Achatz Handmade Pie Company and Crispelli's Bakery, and meat from Michigan suppliers Rinaldi Fresh Sausage, Dearborn Brand, Kowalski Sausage Company and The Brinery. The inaugural Meijer Grocery stores also will offer frozen pizza from Buddy’s Pizza of Detroit.
Meijer Grocery locations will offer delivery and pickup as well as scan-and-go technology, according to the announcement.
Meijer disclosed that it was looking to develop a new supermarket format in mid-2021, when the company received clearance from the planning commission in Orion Township to build a 90,000-square-foot store in the community. A real estate manager for Meijer told the commission that the location would not carry non-food merchandise such as electronics or clothing, which are staples of its supercenters.
In November, government officials in Noblesville, Indiana, indicated that Meijer plans to build a Meijer Grocery store in their city. The store is slated to occupy 90,000 square feet, and construction is scheduled to begin next year, according to a report in the Indianapolis Star. Meijer also runs a full-size supercenter in the Indianapolis suburb.
Meijer has invested in a fleet of neighborhood markets that also place a premium on convenience but, with an average size of about 40,000 square feet, are substantially smaller than the budding Meijer Grocery chain. Meijer opened the first location based on the urban market concept in 2018 in the company’s hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan.
