Trending
HOWLAND -- Meijer store director Patrick Hughes' first time stepping foot inside the retailer's new Howland Commons supercenter was November, when it still was just a shell of a building.
Fast forward to Friday when Hughes, of Boardman, led a group of visitors and media on a loop through the nearly 160,000-square foot store called the "racetrack," while some work remains to ready it for its 6 a.m. Tuesday opening.
"As you can see, we don't look like we are ready to open Tuesday morning," Hughes said, referring to the largely empty fresh department, which is composed of a deli, produce and meat sections, and bakery. "But there is a reason behind that. We are 100 percent behind quality and freshness, and we won't receive any of our trucks for our produce and our short-dated merchandise until Sunday."
"So Sunday and Monday, we will be working really hard to bring the freshest quality that we can to our customers," Hughes said.
The section also includes hot foods and a butcher.
"Our meat department is really dear to us. We have a cutting room, meat cutters that are here. (You) ring the doorbell and they come right to the window to cut you any type of cut that you want," Hughes said.
Hughes stopped in each department, from fresh to grocery to general merchandise to home, toys, DIY, sporting goods and health care and beauty. The store also has a floral area, garden center and pharmacy.
"So really, when I say one-stop shop, you are getting everything that you need to take care of your family," he said.
The store in the Howland Commons plaza of the Eastwood Mall Complex is the 11th the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based retailer has opened in northeast Ohio in the past four years. It will be the second to open in the Mahoning Valley; the other supercenter opened in May 2021 in Boardman.
It's been a long time coming for the Howland store. The first talks and on-site meeting with complex owner / operator, the the Cafaro Company, were in 2014. It wasn't until about five years later Cafaro Company and Meijer confirmed they had a deal for the store at the site of a former Super Kmart.
A fuel station and express mart in the parking lot east of the store closer to state Route 46 opened quietly April 9.
"Once the store opens, it will really take off then," Hughes said.
The store employs about 350 full- and part-time workers, and job openings remain.
Interested candidates can begin the hiring process by applying online at jobs.meijer.com/stores, and searching the specific location. Details for hourly and full-time positions are outlined within the job postings.
GIVING BACK
Meijer donates 6 percent of it net profit back to the community, and gives individual stores the freedom to choose worthy organizations and groups. On Friday, the store gave Warren-based Inspiring Minds a check for $15,000.
Founded in 2006 by Warren native Deryck Toles, the organization provides free afterschool and summer enrichment programs to under-represented youth in grades three to 12.
The funding, which will stay local, "means a lot," Toles said.
"Every year, we have a huge team that puts a lot of labor and a lot of love into their work, so when companies like this come in and believe in our mission, believe in our work, to me, it helps validate what our team has put out into the community," Toles said.
"We're trying to grow, we're trying to keep up with the growth. One of our biggest issues is every year we have a waiting list of about 300 young people. Just here in Warren, we have 300 kids on the waiting list and that's one of the hardest things for us is to have to tell people 'no,'" Toles said. "It's not because of grades, it's not because of where they live, it's not because of who they are. We just don't have the resources to expand, so things like this help us to create the capacity so we can start to serve more young people."
ABOUT MEIJER
Meijer opened its first store in Ohio in 1981. At its 50 stores and at its distribution and manufacturing facilities in Tipp City near Dayton, the retailer employs more than 11,000 people in Ohio.
The company -- privately-owned and family-run -- was founded in 1934 and has grown to operate 501 supercenters, Meijer Grocery, neighborhood markets and Express locations in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Wisconsin.
A third Valley store is planned for Austintown on Mahoning Avenue. Construction is expected to begin in April 2024 with a projected open date in May 2025.