A new Meijer is coming to Chum's Corner on US-31:
This will not be the massive Meijer stores on Division and in Williamsburg, but a kinder, gentler Meijer. Living on the Leelanau Peninsula, I won't be shopping at this store often, but I'm happy to see it coming. Hopefully this will pull some of the shoppers that live on the south end of town. Shrinking the shopper count by a few hundred a day will certainly help the experience at the Division Street Meijer. The fruit and vegetable department of that store feels like a Middle Eastern souk, trying to navigate the chaos. Anything that reduces my stress level is a welcome change.
The first Meijer opened on May 24th, 1977, built on the location of W.T. Grant (department store), Timber Lanes (bowling alley) and a movie theater. These were all well before my time in TC, but thinking about what was there before and replaced by a single store, for those of you who haven't been to that Meijer, you can imagine how large it is (220,000 square feet). I find listening to "The Charlie Brown Christmas" album help calms me as a I walk in the building. No, ma'am, you don't park your cart sideways across the aisle.
The bad news is that a new traffic light will also be added.
Another parting image of the construction:
