Step Inside Meijer's Bridge Street Market

Meijer opened the doors of its first small-format Bridge Street Market on the west side of its hometown of Grand Rapids, Mich. The new concept aims to bring fresh and local food to shoppers at an affordable price. Located at the corner of Bridge Street and Seward Avenue, Bridge Street Market serves as the anchor of a unique mixed-use development, which also includes apartments in The Hendrik, and an office and retail space.

Designed to serve as a model for future neighborhood-friendly development in the area while providing residents and local businesses access to fresh food and curated convenience, Bridge Street Market represents “new territory” for the 240-store retailer and functions as a separate organization apart from the parent company.

The market’s first day of business kicked off with a ribbon-cutting event attended by Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss and West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Guillermo Cisneros. Store Manager Ken Bair joined with Meijer executives to demonstrate its commitment to the community with $5,000 donations to five community organizations: Other Way Ministries, West Side Collaborative, Steepletown Neighborhood Services, Oasis of Hope and the West Grand Neighborhood Association.

After more than a year of planning, construction and anticipation from the community, Meijer Co-Chairman Hank Meijer welcomed guests to their new neighborhood market, which is a first-of-its-kind format centering on fresh, convenient food and value.

The 37,000-square-foot market, which has been in the works since its groundbreaking ceremony in June 2017, features a full assortment of fresh and prepared foods as well as 2,000 local, artisan groceries and Meijer and national brand products.

Twenty-two-foot ceilings, a pedestrian-friendly design and garage-style doors that open onto the sidewalk along Bridge Street impart an open-air feel. A dedicated parking area on the main level of a connected parking deck also adds ease to the shopping experience.

While it’s considerably smaller than Meijer’s traditional 200,000-square-foot supercenter store size, the company has worked hard to ensure it has the best mix of products to meet the community’s needs. Among the highlights of Bridge Street Market are a Mayan Buzz Cafe coffee shop and a large beer, wine and liquor counter.

“Bridge Street Market is unique—unique to the region and unique to Meijer—and we are excited to finally share it with the community," noted Store Manager Ken Bair. "From day one, we hit the ground running to ensure we had the best products on our shelves to meet the communities’ needs. We listened diligently and soaked up the west side’s heritage and believe that Bridge Street Market will more than deliver.”

The entire Meijer organization is “excited about what Bridge Street Market means for the community, this west side development and for Meijer,” said Meijer President and CEO Rick Keyes. “This is new territory for us, but we believe this is not only a smart business move and addresses the need for new ways to serve our changing customers, but it also positively impacts our community.”