Meijer finishes renovations at 28th and Kalamazoo store

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The Meijer at 28th Street and Kalamazoo Avenue in Grand Rapids is celebrating after undergoing a renovation.

The grocery store is hosting a grand reopening celebration Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will be activities for kids, handouts and other festivities.

“It’s going to be an awesome time for our store to go through and not only celebrate with our community, but also to go through and celebrate with our team members,” store director Chris Ragland said.

The renovation project started back in February. Crews changed up the layout of the store, including moving the frozen and dairy sections to the other side of the store by the grocery department.

They also updated the store’s fixtures, brought in new shopping carts and updated the restrooms, adding adult-sized changing tables. An extra register was added at the pharmacy, and the pet department and alcohol aisle were both expanded. Meijer also updated its baby department and apparel offerings.

“The renovation has been amazing,” Ragland said. “(We’re) really investing into our community and also investing into our store here for our team members. … It’s been an awesome project. Our customers have been amazing.”

Ragland said it’s fitting that the location is undergoing the renovations, its first overhaul since it was rebuilt in 2010, as the grocery chain celebrates its 90th anniversary. The location is a big part of Meijer’s history, as it was the company’s first super center.

First opened in 1958, it was expanded into a super store with general merchandise options in 1962. Then called Thrifty Acres, the 1962 expansion added 80,000 square feet to the original 20,000-square-foot store. It’s also where Sandy the Penny Pony first debuted, making its first appearance in June of that year, Ragland said.

The updated store includes redesigned graphics with several nods to the store’s history.

Across the street from the grocery store, Meijer just finalized the purchase of the former Christian Reformed Church in North America headquarters . It officially bought the property on Oct. 9 for $7.3 million, property records show.

It plans on building a new gas station right at the corner of 28th Street and Kalamazoo, before tearing down the old gas station and adding more development to the lots.

“It’s all about convenience for our customers,” Ragland said. “Not only can the customers coming off of Kalamazoo go through and enter, it’ll make it a lot easier for our customers on 28th Street.”

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