26th

ANNUAL

Hard To Say Goodbye

Customers are sad to see Hiller's go.

ONE DAY ONLY

Saturday, May 16, 2015
9 am — 7 pm

Trade in your clean used
jeans for a new pair at

Jeans collected
will be donated to the:

Homeless of
Oakland County

One Pair of Jeans per customer
No charges, cash and check only

Please bring your donations of clothing, toys, furniture, etc to Guys N Gals.
Help those less fortunate. (All additional donations are tax deductible)
248-851-1260

ORCHARD MALL • WEST BLOOMFIELD,

ARD LAKE ROAD • NORTH OF MAPLE

SHANGRI-LA

AUTHENTIC CHINESE CUISINE
AUTHENTIC

UPTOWN

MIDTOWN
4710 Cass Avenue
Detroit, Michigan 48201

6407 Orchard Lake Road
(15 Mile & Orchard Lake)

313.974.7669

248.626.8585

DAILY DIM SUM &SUSHI

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uptownshangri-la.com

12

May 14 • 201E

Ronelle Grier
Contributing Writer

M

etro Detroiters are adapting
to the recent news about the
sale of Hiller's grocery stores
to the Cincinnati-based Kroger Co. with
a mix of sadness and nostalgia.
The family-owned business, found-
ed in 1941 by Sidney Hiller, has been a
go-to destination for more than three
generations of Jewish shoppers who
counted on Hiller's for special holiday
items and year-round staples.
"My mom shopped at Shopping
Center Market on 10 Mile and
Greenfield when I was growing up:' said
Ellen Yashinsky Chute of Farmington
Hills. "I've been shopping at Hiller's for
almost 40 years. We do 90 percent of our
grocery shopping there. This will be a
dramatic life change for us all in so many
ways:'
All seven Hiller's locations were sold to
the Kroger Co. With the exception of the
Union Lake Road store in Commerce
Township, the stores — located in West
Bloomfield, Ann Arbor, Northville,
Plymouth, South Lyon and Commerce
Township — will reopen under the
Kroger name, while the Union Lake
Road location will be occupied by anoth-
er retailer. The details of the sale were
not disclosed.
CEO Jim Hiller said he is confident
Kroger will maintain the high standards
of quality and customer service that
Hiller's customers have come to rely on.
"They understand what we do ... they
are committed to local enterprises ...
nobody else would be capable of servic-
ing our community as well as Kroger;
Hiller said.
While current Hiller's employees
have not been guaranteed jobs after the
transition, they have been encouraged
to submit applications to Kroger. Ken
McClure, consumer communications
manager for Kroger's Michigan Division,
has said Kroger would like to "retain
as many Hiller's employees as possible"
to ensure consistency and facilitate a
smooth transition.
"We've been shopping at the Hillers on
14 Mile and Haggerty since we moved
here 18 years ago:' said Frank Hoffman
of Farmington Hills. "While we base our
shopping choices somewhat on prices,
ultimately, we return to any store based
on the experience, the quality of the
service as well as the quality of the food.

Consistency in all these areas is a hall-
mark of our experience with Hiller's."
Some customers have expressed con-
cern about whether Kroger will continue
Hiller's legacy of generous contributions
to hundreds of charitable causes over
the years, especially Jewish organiza-
tions. According to McClure, Kroger will
review Hiller's charitable activities to
determine how those efforts can best be
combined with Kroger's extensive chari-
table giving program.
"Kroger raised over $500,000 for
the American Cancer Society, $2 mil-
lion dollars to local organizations, and
donated 51,000 gallons of milk and 4.6
million pounds of food to our food bank
partners last year:' McClure said. "We
are also the No. 1 supporter of the USO
(United Service Organizations):'
To service Hiller's customers in the
manner to which they have become
accustomed, McClure said Kroger also
plans to continue offering local products,
ethnic foods and specialty items, includ-
ing a variety of kosher foods.
"Our current strategy is to expand
our kosher selection. We're trying to
retain as much as possible from Hiller's,"
said McClure, adding that future
plans include a "facelift" for the West
Bloomfield store to "improve shopabil-
ity:,

He said customers are invited to sub-
mit suggestions and requests for items
not currently stocked.
"We want to cater to the Hiller's con-
sumer and to our Jewish customers,"
McClure said. "We want to get this right:'
Meanwhile, Dan Sonenberg, man-
aging partner of Johnny Pomodoro's
market at Middlebelt and 14 Mile in
Farmington Hills, sees the sale as an
opportunity to serve more Jewish cus-
tomers. He said many people do not
realize his store offers a large selection
of frozen kosher foods from Shirlee
Bloom, sandwiches and other carryout
deli items, Empire chicken and turkey,
a fresh fish counter with grinding avail-
able, and a dedicated slicer for kosher
lunch meats.
"Tell me what you want, and I'll find a
space for it. I want to cater to the people
in our community:' Sonenberg said.
The transition from Hiller's to Kroger
is expected to take place in July, after the
sale closes.
"Hillers is like family ... [it's] sad to
see them go:' said Eve Lerman of West
Bloomfield.

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