Southeast Michigan Retail: Motor City Retail History

This post will look at retail in Lincoln Park and Wyandotte, Wayne County, MI. It's been a minute, but for our first 2022 post, we begin by announcing the closures of two different Arbor Drugs/CVS locations that we've covered on this blog. On January 8, 2022 , CVS announced the closure of CVS #8122 in Lincoln Park by that February, followed by the closure of CVS #8118 in Wyandotte on April 7. These stores were two of about 300 stores that have or will be closed by CVS over the next three years as it evaluates changes in consumer buying patterns and future health needs. The closure of CVS #8122 came just months after Meijer #208 across Dix Highway completed its very first remodel, and surprised both me (which is why I have no closure photos of #8122) and Y4123. Meanwhile, the closure of CVS #8118 eliminates a convenient option that residents of an under-construction mid-rise apartment on the site of the former Wyandotte Post Office one block north might have enjoyed. With the ...

  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 oper...

    This post will look at retail in Wyandotte, Wayne County, MI.    A&P / Lucky Strike Market / Pinch Penny Market / Arbor Drugs #118 / CVS #8118 131 Elm Street, Wyandotte, MI Driving distance and time from downtown Detroit: 11.6 miles, approx. 27 minutes   After covering CVS store #8029 , it seemed natural that this blog would get around to doing a post on Wyandotte's other active CVS store, and very much like #8029, this location also has a grocery store past. The 131 Elm Street A&P store in the 1960s, following its last exterior remodel. The former Wyandotte Post Office building (background) would soon be demolished for additional parking for 131 Elm's tenants. (credit: All Things Wyandotte ) Located on a side street within downtown Wyandotte, the building that houses CVS #8118 was first built in 1938 to house an A&P grocery store, and like most A&P stores of the period, was built in the chain's then-typical stepped-facade design (seen above)...

This post will look at retail in Wyandotte, Wayne County, MI.   Kroger Michigan Division #312 / Arbor Drugs #29 / CVS #8029 2025 Fort Street, Wyandotte, MI Driving distance and time from downtown Detroit: 14.9 miles, approx. 21 minutes This is the next part in a series of posts chronicling the relocation history of the tenants of 14155 Eureka Road in Southgate . Today's post brings us to where the Kroger that originally occupied that building had relocated from...and that brings us to a background on the history of this Wyandotte building. Kroger #312 grand opening ad in the June 20, 1957 Southgate Sentinel. (credit: Downriver History & Facts ) Kroger #312 was Wyandotte's most recent Kroger to open on June 26, 1957, and was located in the city's fast-growing West End at the southeast corner of Fort Street and Ford Avenue. For those of you unfamiliar with the area, Ford Avenue is the easternmost portion of Northline Road, and yet many people, including MDOT and the Wayne...