Lights Out at Target #280

 

This post will look at retail in Taylor, Wayne County, MI.

Target #280 needs no introduction, as we've already written an entire blog post on this store back in 2019. However, yesterday, I had to go there to pick up something...in the middle of a major wind storm warning that was producing wind gusts up to at least 64 MPH at nearby Detroit Metro Airport, and originated from the same storm complex that just the night before had not only spawned a series of destructive tornadoes between Illinois and Arkansas, but had also spawned a large snowstorm in Minnesota.

Naturally, the winds triggered numerous power outages across Michigan and Ontario, and among the areas that were affected by blackouts was the area surrounding Southland Center, including the mall itself (though some stores remained with power anyway), forcing it to close. The blackout extended to the Target #280 store behind Southland, and that is the subject of today's post.

At the time of my visit, the store was operating on emergency power, and checkouts were still operating pretty much normally. Incidentally, checkouts, along with the Starbucks counter and the restroom hallway, were the only areas of the store that were still powered almost normally.

 

Aside from a few "flashlights" (using an analogical term), the rest of the store was powerless. Here's the main rear actionway looking west from Tech, whose TV displays were nonfunctional thanks to...you guessed it, lack of power.

One last photo to wrap up this rather short post, showing men's apparel in total darkness. Despite the outage, the store still operated smoothly.

As of now, Target #280 should be back to working fine, along with its neighboring businesses. Until next time...