New Meijer "Bridge Street Market" on the West Side

[crinzema]

Guilty as charged

[mpchicago]

I didn't realize that Meijer interviewed 12 different coffee "shops" before deciding to sign with Mayan Buzz Cafe to operate out of the Bridge Street Market.   Their current cafe is located near Founders on Grandville Ave.   The Press article also states that owner, Marco Bulnes, will open up a Mayan Chocolate, Ice Cream shop across from the market this spring.

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2018/03/big_year_for_cafe_owner_after.html#incart_2box_news_grand-rapids

Edited March 12, 2018 by mpchicago

[thebeerqueer]

19 hours ago, mpchicago said:

I didn't realize that Meijer interviewed 12 different coffee "shops" before deciding to sign with Mayan Buzz Cafe to operate out of the Bridge Street Market.   Their current cafe is located near Founders on Grandville Ave.   The Press article also states that owner, Marco Bulnes, will open up a Mayan Chocolate, Ice Cream shop across from the market this spring.

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2018/03/big_year_for_cafe_owner_after.html#incart_2box_news_grand-rapids

Mayan Buzz tried to  open a spot further down Bridge St.  at 1202 Bridge St before Carbon Stores secured the spot. I'm excited for another local coffee shop to open after Sparrows closed. 

[EastownLeo]

13 minutes ago, thebeerqueer said:

Mayan Buzz tried to  open a spot further down Bridge St.  at 1202 Bridge St before Carbon Stores secured the spot. I'm excited for another local coffee shop to open after Sparrows closed. 

are you saying that Sparrows closed their bridge location?

[MJLO]

44 minutes ago, thebeerqueer said:

Mayan Buzz tried to  open a spot further down Bridge St.  at 1202 Bridge St before Carbon Stores secured the spot. I'm excited for another local coffee shop to open after Sparrows closed. 

In the communication about Sparrows closing it sounded as if a national chain of some kind was going into the spot.  Any indication of what that would be?  For some reason all that sticks in my mind as a possibility is Jimmy John's.

[GVSUChris]

15 minutes ago, MJLO said:

In the communication about Sparrows closing it sounded as if a national chain of some kind was going into the spot.  Any indication of what that would be?  For some reason all that sticks in my mind as a possibility is Jimmy John's.

Gosh I have heard so many things. I had heard that QDoba was going on Bridge but not in that spot, I had also heard that other local coffee shops were being solicited to take over the Sparrow's spot. Etc. Etc. Etc. I will do a little more digging but honestly I'm one of those weirdos that wouldn't be horrified to see a mix of national and local along Bridge - I'm not sure that it HAS to be a local replacement. I'll let you know what I find. 

[EastownLeo]

28 minutes ago, GVSUChris said:

Gosh I have heard so many things. I had heard that QDoba was going on Bridge but not in that spot, I had also heard that other local coffee shops were being solicited to take over the Sparrow's spot. Etc. Etc. Etc. I will do a little more digging but honestly I'm one of those weirdos that wouldn't be horrified to see a mix of national and local along Bridge - I'm not sure that it HAS to be a local replacement. I'll let you know what I find. 

Where did you see that sparrows announced it was closing the bridge location,  I can not find that anywhere.

[GVSUChris]

1 minute ago, EastownLeo said:

Where did you see that sparrows announced it was closing the bridge location,  I can not find that anywhere.

We had a pop-up shop in there for a couple months (for Artprize/holidays) so we know the management/owner/etc. We had already finished our short-term pop-up before they closed and didn't know it was coming. TBH I don't think they've done anything in terms of publicly announcing the Bridge Street closure. If we didn't have a personal connection we would have been clueless as to what happened. 

[thebeerqueer]

22 minutes ago, EastownLeo said:

Where did you see that sparrows announced it was closing the bridge location,  I can not find that anywhere.

The announcement was just a posting on their door. There's a post about it somewhere in this thread, maybe even a photo but their website only lists the one location now, even though they have a blog post from 01/20/2018 stating they have a new partnership event space in the back. 

[MJLO]

2 hours ago, GVSUChris said:

Gosh I have heard so many things. I had heard that QDoba was going on Bridge but not in that spot, I had also heard that other local coffee shops were being solicited to take over the Sparrow's spot. Etc. Etc. Etc. I will do a little more digging but honestly I'm one of those weirdos that wouldn't be horrified to see a mix of national and local along Bridge - I'm not sure that it HAS to be a local replacement. I'll let you know what I find. 

I wouldn't hate that either.   Whether you love or despise national chains, they tend to be a good barometer of overall neighborhood health, especially in an urbanized neighborhood.  Although I do hope to see slightly more significant brands than Jimmy Johns as they seem like they go everywhere

[GR_Urbanist]

4 hours ago, thebeerqueer said:

The announcement was just a posting on their door. There's a post about it somewhere in this thread, maybe even a photo but their website only lists the one location now, even though they have a blog post from 01/20/2018 stating they have a new partnership event space in the back. 

I seriously dont understand why they wont say anything about it. It isnt like we all dont know that they had a 2nd location and now they have closed it. Simply erasing all mentions of it from their website, and pretending like it never existed just seems awkward and weird. People love their business and aren't going to hate them because this place didn't work out.

 

Anyway, I also dont mind the prospect of a few chains coming to Bridge either. Local places come and go way to easily and too fast sometimes. Meijer technically counts as the first one, and they are sure to reel in others.

I'm really expecting more of the types of places around Knap's Corner Meijer rather than anything you would find in a mall. Some useful additions. Nothing high-end.

[GRDadof3]

8 hours ago, EastownLeo said:

Where did you see that sparrows announced it was closing the bridge location,  I can not find that anywhere.

Dude, Sparrows on Bridge is closed. For good. Caput.  

Take our word for it, you don't need Mlive validation. 

[GVSUChris]

Looks like the apartment building will be called “The Hendrick,” which I’m guessing is an homage to the founder of Meijer. I kind of love it. 

[mpchicago]

I like the name, the font, and the light bar which appears to run across the top of the building.

[joeDowntown]

6 hours ago, mpchicago said:

I like the name, the font, and the light bar which appears to run across the top of the building.

Agreed. I like the nod to history. I still think they should just call the store Meijer though. 

Joe

[gvsusean]

20 minutes ago, joeDowntown said:

Agreed. I like the nod to history. I still think they should just call the store Meijer though. 

Joe

if they wanted a classier name they shoulve called the store "Frederick Meijer" Or "Meijer Marketplace" or something like that

[metrogrkid]

4 hours ago, joeDowntown said:

Agreed. I like the nod to history. I still think they should just call the store Meijer though. 

Joe

They are dropping the ball on a precept of "Marketing 101": when you have a successful name and you are branching into a new venue, feel free to create a new moniker while still maintaining a visible connection to your success.

Meijer has chosen "Bridge Street Market".  No problem.  They are sleeping by not calling it "Bridge Street Market by Meijer".  Make "by" in a really small cursive font and "Meijer" in its normal font albeit equally really small.  Done.  Egad.  

[walker]

6 hours ago, metrogrkid said:

They are dropping the ball on a precept of "Marketing 101": when you have a successful name and you are branching into a new venue, feel free to create a new moniker while still maintaining a visible connection to your success.

Meijer has chosen "Bridge Street Market".  No problem.  They are sleeping by not calling it "Bridge Street Market by Meijer".  Make "by" in a really small cursive font and "Meijer" in its normal font albeit equally really small.  Done.  Egad.  

I somewhat disagree.  Likely Bridge Street Market will have higher prices and a different product selection.  If they were to put the Meijer name anywhere on the brand there would be confusion among a good percentage of customers looking for the advertised products and prices in the Meijer flyers etc.  at Bridge Street Market.   Besides if Bridge Street Market fails and Meijer abandons or sells it later, there will be less damage to the Meijer brand if the Meijer name is not on the store.   

[thebeerqueer]

18 hours ago, mpchicago said:

I like the name, the font, and the light bar which appears to run across the top of the building.

I agree., the light bar is pretty slick. Also, the brick work is nice but particularly nice on the south facade. Well done. 

 

... ohh and they'll have Field and Fire bread in the store. I'm stoked!

Edited May 11, 2018 by thebeerqueer

[GR_Urbanist]

3 hours ago, walker said:

I somewhat disagree.  Likely Bridge Street Market will have higher prices and a different product selection.

I dont think enough people are remotely prepared for this. I also dont think Meijer is doing enough to define this store and its purpose so that a bunch of people, like the lower-income people that still live on the west side, dont show up looking for normal Meijer goods, only to find out they are shopping at a Whole Foods, with a fraction of the selection that a normal Meijer store has. Even higher-income people will go as a novelty at first, but even then they aren't always going to be looking for free-range fair trade cereal, and would sometimes like a box of Fruit Loops on sale.

We already had this problem with the Downtown Market.

[demhem]

1 hour ago, GR_Urbanist said:

I dont think enough people are remotely prepared for this. I also dont think Meijer is doing enough to define this store and its purpose so that a bunch of people, like the lower-income people that still live on the west side, dont show up looking for normal Meijer goods, only to find out they are shopping at a Whole Foods, with a fraction of the selection that a normal Meijer store has. Even higher-income people will go as a novelty at first, but even then they aren't always going to be looking for free-range fair trade cereal, and would sometimes like a box of Fruit Loops on sale.

We already had this problem with the Downtown Market.

They are hosting an open house with information about the Market and doing public outreach with the West Grand Neighborhood Organization. My understanding is that they are trying to focus on hiring residents of the Westside. While I'm sure they could do more, I've been seeing advertisements and updates fairly regularly (but I also live on the Westside). 

[Pattmost20]

1 hour ago, GR_Urbanist said:

I dont think enough people are remotely prepared for this. I also dont think Meijer is doing enough to define this store and its purpose so that a bunch of people, like the lower-income people that still live on the west side, dont show up looking for normal Meijer goods, only to find out they are shopping at a Whole Foods, with a fraction of the selection that a normal Meijer store has. Even higher-income people will go as a novelty at first, but even then they aren't always going to be looking for free-range fair trade cereal, and would sometimes like a box of Fruit Loops on sale.

We already had this problem with the Downtown Market.

I'll be curious to see what their grocery prices are. At this point, as long as they have a decent seafood selection that isn't 80-120% over normal prices (*cough DT Market cough*) I will be happy. Right now I have to make the 15 minute drive to any number of equidistant Meijers or go to EGR and still slightly overpay at D&W.

[ChevalierNoir]

Somebody close to the situation told me that the company waffled back and forth between the "by Meijer" appendage and ultimately decided they wanted to make Bridge Street it's own brand. They don't want customers to expect all the weekly printed sale prices or the full selection that one would expect at a Meijer. It's supposed to be a unique place that has the full support of Meijer and it's supply chain.

Regarding pricing, I understand that they will typically reflect average pricing at Meijer: if a tube of toothpaste is normally $2.99 but goes on sale frequently for 2/$5, expect to see it at Bridge Street for around $2.75. 

[joeDowntown]

6 hours ago, GR_Urbanist said:

I dont think enough people are remotely prepared for this. I also dont think Meijer is doing enough to define this store and its purpose so that a bunch of people, like the lower-income people that still live on the west side, dont show up looking for normal Meijer goods, only to find out they are shopping at a Whole Foods, with a fraction of the selection that a normal Meijer store has. Even higher-income people will go as a novelty at first, but even then they aren't always going to be looking for free-range fair trade cereal, and would sometimes like a box of Fruit Loops on sale.

We already had this problem with the Downtown Market.

This is a true, full service grocery store. I think comparisons to downtown market is a pretty big stretch. Sure, some labels and prices may be different but I don’t think Meijer is pulling the wool over anyone’s eyes. 

As a marketer, I think they are a little off base with the name. But if that’s the worst thing I can talk about, it’s still pretty darn good. 

I agree about the brickwork as well. It looks really nice. 

Joe

[Allison Slater]

On 5/11/2018 at 8:07 AM, walker said:

I somewhat disagree.  Likely Bridge Street Market will have higher prices and a different product selection.  If they were to put the Meijer name anywhere on the brand there would be confusion among a good percentage of customers looking for the advertised products and prices in the Meijer flyers etc.  at Bridge Street Market.   Besides if Bridge Street Market fails and Meijer abandons or sells it later, there will be less damage to the Meijer brand if the Meijer name is not on the store.   

Their answer to Sam's Club back in the day, what was it called, Source Club?  Did that ever have any Meijer branding on it? I'm not sure that it did, or at least I don't recall any, but everyone still very well understood it was a part of the Meijer company.