Detroit Does Not Need a Walmart

Jim Griffioen, the author of Sweet Juniper, wrote an amazing article for the Urbanophile called Yes There Are Grocery Stores in Detroit in which he attempts to refute the widespread myth that Detroiters have no place to shop for food. We've all heard this idea repeated over and over in the national media - a reporter says, "There is not a single grocery store within the city limits of Detroit," accompanied by a series of images of boarded-up liquor stores. Griffioen argues that while there are no national chain supermarkets in Detroit, America must try to get past the idea that a city without a Wal-Mart or Kroger is somehow at a disadvantage.

There are plenty of independently owned grocery stores in Detroit. Of course, some of them are not so great, but others, like the Honey Bee Market on Bagley, are much better places to shop than a big box supermarket. And the Honey Bee is just one of many small grocery stores in Mexicantown. In fact, in a recent discussion on WDET, the produce purchaser for the Honey Bee suggested that if there's any food issue in Southwest Detroit, it's that there is too much competition among independent food stores. Some of these independent grocers offer a more diverse, high-quality selection than chain supermarkets, and their profits go right back into the community, as opposed to being sent back to Arkansas or wherever corporate headquarters might be. I'm going to guarantee that residents of Southwest Detroit (and many other areas) are not driving to the suburbs to do their grocery shopping, as some in the media have suggested. Unique, high-quality markets like Honey Bee are actually attracting shoppers from outside the city.

The main thesis of the article (at least what I took from it) seems to be summed up in this quote:

"Ultimately, that myth perseveres because the mainstream media and its audience is steeped in a suburban mentality where the only grocery stores that really seem to count are those large, big-box chain stores that are the only option in so many communities these days, largely because they have put locally-owned and independent stores like the ones you find in Detroit out of business."