First look: Meijer’s new Rivertown Market in Detroit opens Wednesday

Detroit’s newest grocery store opens Wednesday on East Jefferson Avenue just outside of downtown.

Rivertown Market, a small-format version of a Meijer Inc. store, is at 1475 E. Jefferson Ave. between Rivard and Riopelle streets. Hours are 7 a.m.-10 p.m. daily.

The store features a 4,700-square-foot produce department plus extensive alcohol offerings, fresh and prepared foods, meat and deli items, plus basic cleaning, health and beauty products.

Store manager and Detroit resident Marcus Reliford set a goal of including 2,000 local products to the Rivertown Market’s inventory, inlcuding Highland Park’s Pizzaman Pizza, Hamtramck-based chocolatier Bon Bon Bon and MexiBake Bakery in Detroit.

“We want to help local businesses succeed,” Reliford said in an interview with Crain’s earlier this year. “We want to showcase all Detroit has to offer and believe Rivertown Market is the place to do it.”

The $16 million project developed by Dennis Archer Jr. was completed after beginning work last year following approval of about $1.56 million in brownfield financing that can be captured over 14 years plus $689,000 in grants.

The market was announced four years ago and had been in discussions for three or four years prior to that. It was originally envisioned to include 213 apartments but the residential component was scrapped due to construction costs.

Grand Rapids-based Gun Lake Investments and Mercantile Bank financed the project, and Grand Rapids-based Bacall Development and Bloomfield Hills-based Lormax Stern Development Co. bowed out once the residential component was removed.

Rockford Construction, also based in Grand Rapids, was the project’s contractor while its architect was Bingham Farms-based Rogvoy Architects.

There are several independent grocery stores surrounding the Rivertown Market that have been in business for decades.

View the original article.