Birmingham retail wish list (Mobile, Hueytown: low income, crime, garden)

[jero23]

Originally Posted by raj kapoor

Actually, Bi-Lo was an upstate South Carolina company. When it bought Jax based Winn-Dixie it chose to move its operations to Jax for the same reason that rumor has it that Kroger is looking at the north Florida market and beyond. Of course it left some operations in Greenville, but it also left a lot of customers who will no longer be faithful. It did come down to jobs for them.
The same happened when they bought Harris-Teeter. Charlotte and North Carolina are not so thrilled to have Kroger scaling down what had been some of the nicest stores east of the Mississippi.

Anyone whom is literate and can use Google knows that Bi-Lo had its original base in Greenville. However, it is not a Carolina-based company anymore. You are exaggerating the impact of Harris Teeter being acquired by Kroger. I frequent and have family and friends in North Carolina, and even from them the only people whom are complaining about that acquisition are either "stuck-up suburban people" or "bougie people" in general. As a matter of fact, I'm quite familiar with Harris Teeter prior to this and since the Kroger acquisition it has been status quo for the past 12 months. That situation is a non-sequtiur in general to Bi-Lo/Winn-Dixie since they weren't exactly targeting the same group of shoppers in general.

I think you are quite mistaken when you write that few believed there might be changes. Who living in today's world would doubt change. However today's market is not like it was when Kroger was last in Birmingham. Satisfied customers are very hard to lure away from a combination that is working.

I highly doubt you can call people in Birmingham "satisfied shoppers" when your only choices for groceries are either Piggly Wiggly and/or Food Giant or some locally-owned grocer in the exurbs and rural areas, the handful of Winn-Dixie stores left, what's left of Western Supermarkets/FoodSmart, of course Wal-Mart (which is everywhere), and if you live in an area with a decent sized middle class population then maybe a Publix and/or Aldi. That is intellectually dishonest to even say that aloud because the people here are using the choices that are available to them.

Having written all that, I will say that if Kroger surprises me and comes in and spends a lot of money and effort to develop a quality highly competitive group of stores, I would give them some of my business as would many others. But throwing new signs up on existing buildings is not the stuff of a new beginning for them here in Birmingham. We are not a food desert. But those areas that are will not see stores for the same reason they have none now. The demographics do not suggest the product belongs in the places you mention. They have Aldi opening near some of those places and of course WM. That is just realistic merchandising. (one can read all over the forum about businesses chased out of areas due to shop lifting and shooting. So I don't worry for those 'customers'. They should first help the city clean up their neighborhoods and cooperate in lowering crime. Which means they have to quit saying they did not see anything)

As recent as 2013, there were Auburn University Masters of Planning graduate students presenting theses that verified that are areas of Birmingham that are food deserts and "devoid of adequate financial institutions" aside from check-cashing places. These same students presented their theses at the national American Planning Association conference in Atlanta last April. Just because Winn Dixie has a store in Five Points West or there is one and a Publix in Crestwood doesn't mean anything to the average person in say Woodland Park, which still a low-crime, middle-to upper middle-class black neighborhood that used to have a full-service grocery until Bruno's closed their Food World due to the chain going under. Basically referencing Ensley/WestEnd as the litmus as to why other areas like with actual middle-class populations like Woodland Park or Huffman/Roebuck/North EastLake doesn't have an actual grocery store is ridiculous at best. To say that Birmingham is not a food desert is also intellectually dishonest and lazy along with being borderline willfully ignorant at best.

I never said Kroger was "dabomb.com", but gives everyone in the region more choices for grocery shopping along being a grocer that actually tries to open stores in majority black neighborhoods would be a nice start for Birmingham.

[sleepless in Bham]

^^^Good post. It seems like some have forgotten that more choices, means more competition which is good news for we the consumers.

I personally would be happy to have Kroger come into the market.

[Tourian]

Originally Posted by jero23

Many = more than one...come on now, let's not get derailed over semantics.

Or actual correct definitions apparently.

[bhamoutlook]

All this over Kroger?

[jero23]

Originally Posted by Tourian

Or actual correct definitions apparently.

See you are attempting to derail...you can have that conversation without me because I'm done talking about that...

[raj kapoor]

Originally Posted by bhamoutlook

All this over Kroger?

Exactly. After trying to post a reasonable assessment of the grocery scene, I realized from his response that he was focused on city limits as opposed to the metro area.

This was not about Kroger, but a backdoor entrance into the conversation about serving areas that have shot themselves in the foot/face. Gentrifying neighborhoods show that when communities make an effort from within, there are plenty ready to come on board and invest. Shooting the cashier at checkout is not a very helpful way to attract businesses back into challenged areas

Jero cycles back about once a month or so with the jewels.

I may skip them . I just find it so hard to not respond when people post information that is not correct, or a lie.

[jero23]

Originally Posted by raj kapoor

Exactly. After trying to post a reasonable assessment of the grocery scene, I realized from his response that he was focused on city limits as opposed to the metro area.

This was not about Kroger, but a backdoor entrance into the conversation about serving areas that have shot themselves in the foot/face. Gentrifying neighborhoods show that when communities make an effort from within, there are plenty ready to come on board and invest. Shooting the cashier at checkout is not a very helpful way to attract businesses back into challenged areas

Jero cycles back about once a month or so with the jewels.

I may skip them . I just find it so hard to not respond when people post information that is not correct, or a lie.

Uh, it is about the entire metro area, but there are numerous parts of the inner city including Fairfield, Midfield, Tarrant, etc. that aren't within Birmingham city limits that have been neglected by grocery stores.

You make it so hard when you are flat wrong and assuming things about certain areas as well. But I give you credit for trying to sound like you know everything about this city if it makes you feel better...

[sleepless in Bham]

Originally Posted by raj kapoor

Exactly. After trying to post a reasonable assessment of the grocery scene, I realized from his response that he was focused on city limits as opposed to the metro area.

This was not about Kroger, but a backdoor entrance into the conversation about serving areas that have shot themselves in the foot/face. Gentrifying neighborhoods show that when communities make an effort from within, there are plenty ready to come on board and invest. Shooting the cashier at checkout is not a very helpful way to attract businesses back into challenged areas

Jero cycles back about once a month or so with the jewels.

I may skip them . I just find it so hard to not respond when people post information that is not correct, or a lie.

You make it sound like some parts of the area worse than Baghdad or some third world slum. People no matter where they live deserve to have choices of where to shop just like middle or upper income areas. So if Kroger or any other chain makes that happen for Tarrant, Midfield, or West End then great.

[Tourian]

Originally Posted by sleepless in Bham

People no matter where they live deserve to have choices of where to shop just like middle or upper income areas.

No they don't. Whole Foods or Trader Joe's is not going to come to West End because people "deserve" it. They go where the money is. They go to upper and middle class areas that can support the store and keep it profitable.

Which is not to say the people living there deserve to starve to death or drive 30 miles to a grocery store. There are grocery stores in those areas. Kroger may or may not add more competition, but they are not coming to the rescue of starving people on the North and Westside/West Metro as is being implied. This is not that big a deal. Nobody needed to be "warned" and there were NOT a majority/large number of or MANY people here saying this wouldn't happen. It isn't that big a deal at all really.

[sleepless in Bham]

Originally Posted by Tourian

No they don't. Whole Foods or Trader Joe's is not going to come to West End because people "deserve" it. They go where the money is. They go to upper and middle class areas that can support the store and keep it profitable.

Which is not to say the people living there deserve to starve to death or drive 30 miles to a grocery store. There are grocery stores in those areas. Kroger may or may not add more competition, but they are not coming to the rescue of starving people on the North and Westside/West Metro as is being implied. This is not that big a deal. Nobody needed to be "warned" and there were NOT a majority/large number of or MANY people here saying this wouldn't happen. It isn't that big a deal at all really.

Who said anything about people in West End deserving a Whole Foods or Trader Joe's? I basically said people there deserve to have choices just like anyone else, no matter the income.

If you spend more time reading and comprehending my post instead of trying to be preachy and a know it all then maybe just maybe you might know your talking about.