Meijer is a monument of Ann Arbor consumerism, sprawling across two locations near campus, one on Carpenter Road and the other, more trafficked Meijer located on Ann Arbor-Saline Road. With countless square feet of produce and beverages, the Midwestern mogul has become the favorite place to get groceries by University students.
- Paul Wong
- Thrifty Acres no more. Just Meijer. (EMMA FOSDICK/Daily)
“It has everything you need and it’s usually pretty cheap,” said LSA Junior Matt Brady of the store. Meijer has what seems to be an endless inventory, but the popularity of the store leaves some students disappointed in the selection. “Sometimes you go there on a weekend night and the shelves are empty except for junk,” said LSA Senior Jon VanOss. The store gets a significant amount of business, which often leads to more popular items being out of stock during busy shopping times.
Because of the massive product movement, the store is able to offer lower prices to their customers than smaller stores. Often Meijer has significant price drops on overstocked items, sometimes more than half off. Another advantage to the swift product turnover is a guanrantee on fresher fruits and vegetables.
Alcohol selection is a mixed bag at the monstrous store. For hard liquor, Meijer has a healthy variety, from Southern Comfort to Captain Morgan’s, but beer afficionados will find the selection lacking. The standard Budweiser and Miller offshoots are readily available, but trying to find your favorite imported beer is a difficult task.
One of the great advantages Meijer has over its competition is their selection of non-grocery items. From bikes and trains to video games, its the biggest store in town. Their slogan, “Everything under one roof,” couldn’t be better stated.