Meijer Introduces Another Grocery Store Format

Meijer has introduced a new brick-and-mortar store concept dubbed Meijer Grocery that aims to offer a simplified shopping experience through added convenience and more fresh foods.

The first two Meijer Grocery stores will open in early 2023 in neighborhoods within southeastern Michigan's Orion Township and Macomb Township. This concept is the retailer's first store format innovation since introducing the neighborhood grocery market small concept to the public in August 2018 with the opening of Bridge Street Market on Grand Rapids' west side.

Meijer expanded that concept with the opening of Woodward Corner Market in Royal Oak, Michigan, as the second location that was solely a grocery store. By 2021, Meijer has opened six more smaller-format urban stores.

Meijer Grocery stores will range in size from 75,000 square feet to 90,000 square feet, and will include multiple departments in what Meijer calls a “condensed” and “quick-to-navigate” footprint, including a meat and seafood counter, a bakery with in-store cake decorators, a full-service deli and, perhaps most notably, fresh produce. Meijer partners with over 250 local farmers to offer fresh produce at its stores, and Meijer Grocery will feature a larger fresh assortment than other area stores.

Meijer Grocery will also offer shoppers the same ways to shop and save as a Meijer supercenter, including mPerks, Shop and Scan via the retailer’s mobile app and Meijer Home Delivery and Pickup services. In addition to their smaller footprint, Meijer Grocery stores are designed with convenience in mind, including full-size aisles and a parking lot wrapped around a singular corner entrance to maximize the number of parking spaces near the door.

As of Aug. 31, the two forthcoming stores in Michigan are still under construction. The structures are enclosed and protected as the retailer starts working on electrical, heating and cooling, and other in-store elements, according to the retailer's website.

"This new concept store will not only provide our customers with everything they need on their weekly shopping trip, but also a quick and easy solution for when they realize they left the key ingredient off their list while cooking dinner," said Don Sanderson, group vice president of foods at Meijer, in the release.