urbanSTL

The return of Kroger…

From Wikipedia:

Kroger opened and had about 50 stores in St. Louis until it left the market in 1986, saying that its stores were unprofitable. Most of its stores were bought by National, Schnucks, and Shop 'n Save.

I heard they were unprofitable due to loyalty to our local chains (i.e. Schnucks and National—not sure about Dierberg's market share at the time). If Kroger were to move back into the St. Louis market, it would be interesting to see how they fare this time around.

I wonder that between the Commerce Site getting a grocery and CORTEX workings along with Bruce MIlls & Opus building and hopefully a nice Koplar/Koman along with Geoff's Citytarget source being correct that things have cooled off for the Midtown Station Plaza proposal which would be a very good thing in my mind.

As someone eloquently put it, why do strip mall developers use the word "Station" when it is nothing more than cheap box construction with asphalt. The developer needs to put in a "The Boulevards" type project at this location focusing on mid size retail footage with residential/hotel/structured parking which will happen if given time I believe.

roger wyoming II wrote:^ There's so much competition now with new grocers coming into the market that Schnuck's and Dierberg's are really going to have to be agile in competing. (It'll be interesting to see what Schnuck's does with its CWE store.) I also wonder how these newcomers might impact locally-owned Field's Foods, which announced its desires to expand beyond the Bohemian Hill store into highway-adjacent, under-served areas.

A question I have is if a larger grocer does indeed move into the proposed Green Street property, would there be enough demand in the area to also have a smaller grocer elsewhere such as Midtown Station or Silo Lofts? For example, a Luck's or Fresh Thyme at Chouteau and Vandeventer and a TJ's or Aldi's on Forest Park Parkway?

Hey all, long time reader of the forum here but a first time poster.

Anyway, maybe it is because I went to SLU and walked by the infamous dog park (Lindell & Grand) every day but I have always pictured that spot with a signature building and a grocery store on the ground level. Maybe another Culinaria or something like that. I have to believe that a grocer will do fantastically with SLU students, faculty, and staff right next door. Not to mention all the apartments within a couple blocks. When I went to SLU, no students ever walked to the CWE Schnucks (for a variety of reasons) but mostly because I believe it is just a little too far for most students, especially if they are not living near the west end of campus. Plus, this location is a tad bit further away from the Green Street site and could possibly serve any new developments that are built on the vacant lots throughout Grand Center.

^agreed. That sculpture/dog park is hideous. Residential with a grocer would make that part of Midtown a premier corner.

Kroger isn't coming to St Louis (as a full service grocery store) unless it buys Schnucks or Dierbergs. The "new to St Louis" grocers he's referring to are probably Sprouts or Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage. The other 3 coming from this group of grocers...Fresh Thyme, Lucky's, Trader Joes, Culinaria by Schnucks, or maybe a new urban concept by Dierbergs.

any recent news about the UIC mixed-use building at 4321 Manchester? back in July the PD said it "could" have started construction back in October. as of the end of January nothing had happened.

http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/ ... d85b0.html

kbshapiro wrote:Trader Joes... or maybe a new urban concept by Dierbergs

While Trader Joe's would certainly create the most buzz, it'd be nice to see Dierberg's finally have a store in the city. Culinaria seems like a long-shot considering the proximity of the Lindell and Arsenal stores.

^ i don't understand the Trader Joe's buzz. while they have some good deals, their selection is limited and in my humble opinion a lot of their stuff is really bland. i'd rather have a store where i can do ALL of my grocery shopping.

The two new to St Louis grocers that I failed to list previously could also be Walmart Neighborhood Market and/or Earth Fare. I listed Sprouts before, I don't believe they're looking in St Louis right now, so you could take them off the list.

People seem to really like the new Lucky's Markets.

http://www.luckysmarket.com/

^ Yes, any one have news? I drive by all the time and sigh when work hasn't begun on those mini castles on Talmage and the two family on Chouteau with the collapsing roof. I keep promising friends they will be saved!

Really nice article on Forest Park SE this morning....

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt ... 188f8.html

If the neighborhood is able to keep significant social and economic diversity while climbing from 3,000 to 5,000 people by 2020 it will become one of the Midwest's finest.

They're not in the retail corridor, but Aventura and the Home 2 Suites Hotel are in the neighborhood.

Great to hear this project is moving forward.

I appreciate UIC's efforts to add a little design pizazz to our streetscapes, but I can't help being a bit disappointed with the finished products. They rely too much on a funky facade, backed-up with lots of cheap-looking siding. Really, their designs have already become predictable and cliched.

But hey, that's just my opinion.

They're getting to work on UIC building

thegrovestl
Farewell #donut building. Bring on the contemporary, mixed-use building @uicstl. 4321Manchester