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Age: ageless
Occupation: groups of people who share the same traits and so forth
Last Seen: everywhere, especially Grand Rapids, MI
Bee-otched For: shutting down another Grand Rapids institution
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In the grocery business, another one is biting the dust.
The age of big box stores have taken another victim. After 109 years and five generations in business, D'Amico's Food Market on Plainfield Ave. in Grand Rapids is closing. Owner Fred Spica claims that the basic mathematics involving owning a mom and pop grocer during these hard modern times is the culprit leading to him closing the store.
Right now, all items on his shelves are marked down 10%. Just two days after the sale began, some shelves are now empty. Spica doesn't have a set date for when his store will close, but when it's gone, it's gone.
D'Amico's began in 1902 near the intersection of Franklin and South Division. The store moved to its current location in 1978 after Fred's great aunt, Rose D'Amico won the lottery and used part of her earnings to move the family business there. It was formerly Daane's Market, which moved to Breton Ave. It's now a Family Fare. The original D'Amico's is now a party store, Franklin Big Save.
Sadly, it was Family Fare, alongside fellow competitors Meijer and Walmart that helped nail the coffin shut for D'Amico's, which is ironic since Family Fare is owned by Spartan Stores, D'Amico's long-time supplier. According to Spartan's website, in order to be supplied by them, your store must be at least 15,000 square feet. D'Amico's was less than half that, at 7,000 square feet. In grocer terms, D'Amico's wasn't really a supermarket, but not quite a party store, either. Their prices weren't as low as a big boxer, but the convenience of being in and out in a hurry helped.
With D'Amico's closing, in the Grand Rapids metro, Spartan will still have their O&Os - Family Fare and D&W - alongside their supplied stores such as Duthler's, Forest Hills Foods, Gordy's, Big Top and Plumb's. In recent years, a few other stores bailed, such as Alger Heights Foods (now Ken's Fruit Market) and Parkside Marketplace (which recently became Grand Rapids' first IGA store in ~30 years).
Some wonder what will happen to the old D'Amico's building, especially since Spica rented it from the Daane family.
Sadly, in this situation, it's everybody's fault that D'Amico's is closing. Shoppers want bargains, and they couldn't get it at D'Amico's. The Meijer and Walton families are billionaires, Fred Spica is not. When people shop at a 200,000 square foot Meijer, they're giving money to somebody who doesn't need it. A D'Amico's shopper supported a normal family that's like everybody else with bills to pay and a mortgage.
But, it's Spica's fault, too. I've been to D'Amico's a few times for shits and giggles, and sadly, on my budget, I couldn't do a full shopping there. Even worse, the whole store was outdated and worn out. It smelled funny. I even asked how long they've been in their current building, and wondered how a store that's been in the same building for 30-some-odd years looked like they've been around for over 60.
Personally, I think some mom-n-poppers like Big Top, Duthler's and Parkside Marketplace will continue on for years to come since their owners have invested dearly in upgrades and preserving their niche, and it shows. IMHO, I think the next grocer to go, sadly is Gordy's since like D'Amico's, it's old, cramped, their carts have bad wheels, and most of all, I heard it's for sale.
Look, I can't stand billionaire supermarket owners. I hate big boxers. But, guess who I also can't stand? Supermarket owners who are cheap and don't realize that in order to make money, you have to spend it too. Want to keep customers in the building? Stay competitive and make sure that nothing's out of date. Nobody wants to push their cart through missing floor tiles and have to squeeze through narrow aisles. It's not rocket science.
In order for ANY business to succeed, customers and owners need to agree on things and make it work. I do feel sorry for Mr. Spica and his family, but that's life. It's time to move on and be thankful that GR still has a few stores that aren't big boxers. All they have to do is keep things up to date and they'll have nothing to worry about.
I should be the host of a TV show like Kitchen Nightmares, but with supermarkets, no?
Bee-otchof the Day Archives can be seen on http://beeotchoftheday.blogspot.com !
Bee-otchof the Day is a production of Chuck69.com, Grand Rapids' site for Stern, politics and more!
In the grocery business, another one is biting the dust.
The age of big box stores have taken another victim. After 109 years and five generations in business, D'Amico's Food Market on Plainfield Ave. in Grand Rapids is closing. Owner Fred Spica claims that the basic mathematics involving owning a mom and pop grocer during these hard modern times is the culprit leading to him closing the store.
Right now, all items on his shelves are marked down 10%. Just two days after the sale began, some shelves are now empty. Spica doesn't have a set date for when his store will close, but when it's gone, it's gone.
D'Amico's began in 1902 near the intersection of Franklin and South Division. The store moved to its current location in 1978 after Fred's great aunt, Rose D'Amico won the lottery and used part of her earnings to move the family business there. It was formerly Daane's Market, which moved to Breton Ave. It's now a Family Fare. The original D'Amico's is now a party store, Franklin Big Save.
Sadly, it was Family Fare, alongside fellow competitors Meijer and Walmart that helped nail the coffin shut for D'Amico's, which is ironic since Family Fare is owned by Spartan Stores, D'Amico's long-time supplier. According to Spartan's website, in order to be supplied by them, your store must be at least 15,000 square feet. D'Amico's was less than half that, at 7,000 square feet. In grocer terms, D'Amico's wasn't really a supermarket, but not quite a party store, either. Their prices weren't as low as a big boxer, but the convenience of being in and out in a hurry helped.
With D'Amico's closing, in the Grand Rapids metro, Spartan will still have their O&Os - Family Fare and D&W - alongside their supplied stores such as Duthler's, Forest Hills Foods, Gordy's, Big Top and Plumb's. In recent years, a few other stores bailed, such as Alger Heights Foods (now Ken's Fruit Market) and Parkside Marketplace (which recently became Grand Rapids' first IGA store in ~30 years).
Some wonder what will happen to the old D'Amico's building, especially since Spica rented it from the Daane family.
Sadly, in this situation, it's everybody's fault that D'Amico's is closing. Shoppers want bargains, and they couldn't get it at D'Amico's. The Meijer and Walton families are billionaires, Fred Spica is not. When people shop at a 200,000 square foot Meijer, they're giving money to somebody who doesn't need it. A D'Amico's shopper supported a normal family that's like everybody else with bills to pay and a mortgage.
But, it's Spica's fault, too. I've been to D'Amico's a few times for shits and giggles, and sadly, on my budget, I couldn't do a full shopping there. Even worse, the whole store was outdated and worn out. It smelled funny. I even asked how long they've been in their current building, and wondered how a store that's been in the same building for 30-some-odd years looked like they've been around for over 60.
Personally, I think some mom-n-poppers like Big Top, Duthler's and Parkside Marketplace will continue on for years to come since their owners have invested dearly in upgrades and preserving their niche, and it shows. IMHO, I think the next grocer to go, sadly is Gordy's since like D'Amico's, it's old, cramped, their carts have bad wheels, and most of all, I heard it's for sale.
Look, I can't stand billionaire supermarket owners. I hate big boxers. But, guess who I also can't stand? Supermarket owners who are cheap and don't realize that in order to make money, you have to spend it too. Want to keep customers in the building? Stay competitive and make sure that nothing's out of date. Nobody wants to push their cart through missing floor tiles and have to squeeze through narrow aisles. It's not rocket science.
In order for ANY business to succeed, customers and owners need to agree on things and make it work. I do feel sorry for Mr. Spica and his family, but that's life. It's time to move on and be thankful that GR still has a few stores that aren't big boxers. All they have to do is keep things up to date and they'll have nothing to worry about.
I should be the host of a TV show like Kitchen Nightmares, but with supermarkets, no?
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Bee-otchof the Day is a production of Chuck69.com, Grand Rapids' site for Stern, politics and more!
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