Contributor Post: Adrian Can Still Count on Country Market!

The following is a SMR:MCRH Contributor Post.

 

This post will look at retail in Adrian, Lenawee County, MI.

 

Kmart #9535 / Seaway Food Town #36/#6036 / Country Market #11

1535 West Maumee Street, Adrian, MI

Driving distance and time from downtown Detroit: 73.7 miles, approx. 1 hour 23 minutes

 

Today's post is brought to you by yet another new contributor: James Kirslis, aka Decor Package, aka The Seaway Project on Discord. James brings us down to this Country Market store in the heart of Lenawee County, a remote, rural county southwest of Ann Arbor, to give us a look at another defunct supermarket chain -- one called Seaway Food Town.

For those of you unfamiliar with the company, Seaway Food Town was a supermarket chain based out of the Toledo, Ohio suburb of Maumee, Ohio that started out as a co-operative operation before transitioning into a traditional chain as the company began branching out into various side ventures from drug stores to restaurants.

It wasn't until 1965 when Seaway Food Town began to expand into Michigan. Its acquisition of Monroe-based Gruber's in 1970 would bring Seaway Food Town into Metro Detroit. During that time, Metro Detroit was a very competitive market, dominated by A&P, Kroger, Farmer Jack, Chatham, Wrigley's, and Great Scott!, with Meijer just a few years away from expanding their up-and-coming Thrifty Acres supercenters into the Detroit market as well. With this in mind, Seaway Food Town only kept to the southernmost Downriver communities to maintain their presence in Metro Detroit.

Nine years later, Seaway Food Town opened its first Adrian store, Kash 'N Karry #36 in the former Great Scott #1040 / Wrigley's #40 building at 124 East Front Street. With less competition, Seaway Food Town quickly thrived in Adrian, but by the late 1980s, its original Adrian Kash 'N Karry store was converted into Seaway Food Town's WD's Deep Discount prototype before being converted again into The Pharm drugstore #902/#6102 a short time later. Seaway Food Town would later reuse the #36 designation for a new Food Town grocery store that opened on the west side of Adrian on March 21, 1999 in this location, which had been abandoned since Kmart #9535 relocated across town on March 8, 1991. Ironically, the opposite side of this shopping center had previously sold food as Kroger store #104 (until July 1984) and later Adrian Foodland, and by this time had become Aco Hardware, and is now Great Lakes Ace Hardware.

It was around this time that Seaway Food Town would sell itself to Spartan Stores, a company that already owned several grocery chains in western and northern Michigan including D&W, Glen's Market and Family Fare. Under Spartan ownership, Seaway Food Town wound up in major trouble to the point that Spartan would ultimately shutter the chain in 2003, including what had become store #6036.

It wasn't long after that implosion that Country Market would open store #11 in the shell of the defeated Food Town. As usual for Country Market, this location is still fairly original to Seaway Food Town...

...right down to still containing a China Express location. China Express was Seaway Food Town's aforementioned restaurant operation, and most of their locations were obviously inside Food Towns. This China Express is currently one of two that are still in operation, with the other inside present-day Food Town #1247 in Toledo.

Here's a closeup of the front facade. Other than the necessary signage replacement, everything is still 100% Seaway Food Town.

 

The Food Town remnants continue as we step inside into the entryway, which contains a cart corral.

As I noted above, Country Market has retained everything Seaway Food Town here - from Food Town's "European Marketplace" decor right down to Food Town's slogan on the checkout lane lights!

Adjacent to the checkouts is an American 1 Credit Union branch, and the pharmacy is beyond that.

 

Here's a look down one of the grocery aisles -- one that also happens to have support poles next to the shelves.

Closeups of the meat counter.

Here's a look down the back actionway to the right of the meat counter.

 

The store's easternmost aisle, as seen here from the back, features wine -- and greeting cards.

 

This view is from the middle of the ethnic foods aisle looking towards the back.

Two more photos of the back actionway before we head back to the front. Dairy is located in the far back right corner of the salesfloor.

 

Frozen foods make up the store's two westernmost aisles.

A beverage alcove is tucked within the far front left corner of the store, adjacent to the pharmacy.

Closeups of the pharmacy before we move to the left section of the store.

 

Entering the store's leftmost section gives us a completely different atmosphere, especially with the open ceiling providing extra breathing room. Produce is located in the far back left corner.

 

To give you an idea on how wide open the store's open-ceiling area is, here's a view from produce facing the front.

Bulk candy is located to the right of produce.

 

China Express is located in the front left corner of the open-ceiling area.

Opposite China Express is the bakery counter.

 

As we head out of the open-ceiling area, here's a look at the floral department.

The entrance is to the opposite side of floral, with the checkouts beyond.

 

Before we head back out, here's a closeup of the checkouts. Beyond the checkouts is the customer service desk.

A cart corral photo to wrap up James' tour.

However, our post is not over yet, as it's time for our usual round of ground level photos, courtesy of Google Street View:

Country Market #11 - June 2019 - American 1 Credit Union has opened a branch inside the store.

Country Market #11 - July 2014

Country Market #11 - October 2013

And now the historic satellite photos, courtesy Google Earth:

 

(left to right) Great Lakes Ace Hardware / Country Market #11 - October 2015

(left to right) Aco Hardware / Country Market #11 - October 2009

 

(left to right) Aco Hardware / Country Market #11 - August 2005 - Aco Hardware has taken over the Adrian Foodland space, Seaway Food Town has come and gone in the Kmart space, and Country Market has replaced Seaway Food Town.

 

(left to right) former Adrian Foodland/future Aco Hardware / former Kmart #9535/future Seaway Food Town #36 - April 1998

Until next time...