Contributor Post: Kroger Skeletons and Remnants - Big Lots #1425, Southgate, Michigan
The following is (mostly) a SMR:MCRH Contributor Post. This post will look at retail in Southgate, Wayne County, MI. Kroger Michigan Division #524 / Family Foodland #5524 / Big Lots #1425 14155 Eureka Road, Southgate, MI Driving distance and time from downtown Detroit: 15.1 miles, approx. 22 minutes This Kroger store originally opened in 1981 as the second Kroger-bannered grocery store to operate within the city of Southgate, and the first of two greenhouse-styled Kroger stores to open in the Downriver suburbs that year. A concrete wall separating the back of the property from adjacent homes on Balsam and Nancy Streets abruptly exploded on June 14, 1984 , and almost a month later, it was announced that the store would close on July 21, 1984 , along with 69 other southeastern Michigan Kroger stores, due to a protracted labor strike. It should be noted that the mid-1980s were a rough period for Kroger regarding labor disputes. Elsewhere in the country, the chain closed a...