I grew up on Shop N Save, and remember every location... starting with the Bellmore property. My family couldn't afford Schnucks, and maybe went to National for a few things.
It's just a different world today and Shop N Save hasn't kept up. In my locale, a nearby 'bag your own' store closed over a year ago and is still an eyesore with nothing going on.
Don't count on much to happen with Shop N Save. Leaders of the City cannot make Granite City a lucrative venture, if anyone who makes a combined income of more than $100,000 doesn't want to stay in Granite City. That is a statistic leaders cannot control.
I used to be tons more optimistic.
Shop N Save was mom and grandma's generation of shopping. There was almost nothing in there that could be eaten instantly....maybe a little bit from the Deli.
Other generations of people still soaked beans or the less able still opened up a box of Hamburger Helper --- or something out of the freezer.
Shop N Save is good for scratch cooking or for boxed items.
The stores that do well today are the ones that are fresh and ready. That's why Whole Paycheck foods does so well....and why our local Kroger Owned affiliate and another competitor have really revamped their produce, deli and meat sections in order to have a wider selection of food that is both fresh and ready to go.
Another problem --- Wal Mart (sucks)... Love them, or leave them, Wal Mart is competitive with Shop N Save, and even though they have more of those Godless self-checkouts, they still have the option during the right hours that one could wait in line and still have someone bag their groceries.
I just think their model has been antiquated. I congratulate them for updating their stores and keeping up with the times in some ways....but in other ways, they did not keep up with the trends of those who prefer fresh and ready foods.
Granite City leaders can't fix that....and with K-Mart now empty.....that entire Nameoki Strip is going to be a real issue. Who is going to take the fiscal risk on a Granite City location?
I used to write many optimistic posts - and I wish it all well, but being more practical these days...It's not that it cannot come back, I just would be less surprised if it didn't.
Man the Shop N Save in GC used to be a hopping location....especially on the weekends. It really was the anchor of all that side of Nameoki Road...
on October 9, 2018, 8:12 pm, in reply to "