East End / Thresher Square / Trader Joes - 713 Washington Ave S

[nfschauer]

Yeah, the suburban stores don't do as well. The two busiest stores are the Grand Ave and Uptown store. The smaller markets such as Lund's and Kowalski's do better in tight urban areas. I go to the Lund's in Loring Park and it's always packed. Cub wouldn't do well in downtown because it is a larger store, so they tend to do better in suburbam areas. My guess is this will be a small market store (Kowalski's or Lunds), or a co-op of some sort.

[FISHMANPET]

I'd also guess that Aldi is seen as too down market to really be successful in a place like this. It also doesn't seem like a location especially convenient for students, considering that with the Walgreens and the CVSs and the Target Express on campus, it's actually not a total food desert anymore.

[twincitizen]

That's true, most daily needs can be met by the CVS/Walgreens/Target locations around campus. But for full grocery shopping, most folks are probably taking transit to Midway or driving to Quarry. A full line grocery store, even a smaller one, at the Downtown East LRT stop (just two stops from East Bank & three from Stadium Village) would be very attractive to students. Much more so than taking LRT to Snelling Ave and walking through a huge parking lot to get to the shitty Rainbow.

[uptowncarag]

It could just be me but I have never considered this an area with a lot of students. Students don't live downtown.

[IllogicalJake]

Students don't live downtown.

They live two train stops away.

[FISHMANPET]

The U has been fairly separated from Downtown because of 35W, but the Green Line brings them together in ways we probably can't even envision, since we all have that divide baked into our minds.

[Silophant]

Students don't live downtown.

They live two train stops away.

One train stop, in the case of the many students that live in the Seven Corners and Cedar-Riverside area. Also, Elliot Park.

[xandrex]

That's true, most daily needs can be met by the CVS/Walgreens/Target locations around campus. But for full grocery shopping, most folks are probably taking transit to Midway or driving to Quarry.

This sort of reflects what Target was saying about their Express store being for in between larger grocery trips (presumably to one of their locations at the Quarry, Midway, or Downtown). But as someone who eats fairly healthy, I've found that the Target Express can meet just about all of my grocery needs. About the only place that they struggle a bit is really having a wider selection of fresh produce (for that, the Northeast Lunds is usually my choice location since it's so close). If you're a typical student on campus with a less-than-perfect diet, I have to imagine the Target Express just might meet every single need.

As for the Thresher location, while I do enjoy Kowalski's, I have a friend who shops at the Uptown location and seems to spend significantly more than similar items even at Lunds. I suppose it would appeal to the Mill District folks, though I'm certainly more a fan of Lunds/Byerlys. Trader Joe's would be awesome, though I have to imagine that even downtown there would be a stink made about parking.

Could a coop work well downtown? I can't imagine that they'd be getting one in this location based off what I've read, but I think that would be pretty interesting to get into Downtown East.

[uptowncarag]

Students don't live downtown.

They live two train stops away.

One train stop, in the case of the many students that live in the Seven Corners and Cedar-Riverside area. Also, Elliot Park.

Students won't take the train. They will take the train coming and going from the St. Paul side to and from campus but I doubt there will lots of students on this side. The rents are too high.

[FISHMANPET]

We/the developer aren't talking about students living here, we're talking about students taking the train from campus to shop here.

[min-chi-cbus]

We/the developer aren't talking about students living here, we're talking about students taking the train from campus to shop here.

Why not just go to Lunds at Nordeast?

[mullen]

aldi would be great. that lunds is incredibly expensive. for quick grab and go it's fine but not substantial shopping.
aldi is such a great store can't beat the prices. perfect for students.

[grant1simons2]

It will not be an aldi, think of the area that they're putting it in, if they want to do a shop for both students and residents it will be an in between. We have a Kowalski's in Eden prairie and sometimes I find cheaper stuff there than at cub or target

[nfschauer]

I e-mailed Bob Kowalski mentioning this real estate, I'll see what he says if he responds.

[grant1simons2]

This will be a very interesting project to watch now..

[John]

Quote from the CEO of Fresh Thyme in the Biz article : "Minneapolis is absolutely an exciting city for us," Sherrell said in a phone interview. "It's a hip city, it's certainly health conscious and it has what we call the 'funky factor.' We love the city and what they've done with the downtown.".

I think it's pretty easy to infer from that statement a strong interest to locate a grocery store in our downtown. They are likely the grocery store to be included as part of Sherman's project.

[nfschauer]

Fresh Thyme would be a good fit as well. They don't have any in MN yet, currently building on in Bloomington.

http://freshthyme.com/our-stores

[nfschauer]

We can rule out Kowalski's, he responded saying,

"We are aware of all the great growth and exciting projects going on downtown. We will continue to explore possibilities in the future. Currently, we are focusing on our Excelsior store."

Makes sense, they've been more of a suburban chain, while Lunds focuses on the urban areas. I'm pulling for Fresh Thyme.

[David Greene]

As for the Thresher location, while I do enjoy Kowalski's, I have a friend who shops at the Uptown location and seems to spend significantly more than similar items even at Lunds.

I can confirm that. And as of late, Kowalski's produce has been noticeably less good. We've had rotten produce in the last couple of trips there. Meat, too, which was a shocker. We're definitely shifting a bit more to Lunds. We also go to the Cub quite a bit, particularly for dry goods. Still nothing beats the Wedge co-op for produce in terms of price/quality.

[Lancestar2]

The developer said the prospective grocer insists on the skyway because they hope to draw college students riding the LRT to the near station and walking the skyway to it. *shrug*

If the skyway will be extended to Chicago and Washington with the grocery store and street to skyway entrance on the corner is there a possibility that the Guthrie Theater would take an interest in connecting (via another skyway extension) along with the Mill Quarter and Riverfront ramps? Currently they are the cheapest priced parking ramps would a connection increase there revenue potential enough to justify the expense?