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30 June 11 • 2015
JN
W
hen I was a toddler, my
family shopped at the
Dixfield market on Eight
Mile Road — in close proximity to
our Oak Park home south of Nine
Mile Road. I remember walking the
store with my mom, hoping that at
the end of the shopping trip, I would
be the recipient of one of those plas-
tic toys in the clear packages with an
orange label. They were
priced in the 19-49 cent
range, and there were so
many to choose from!
Though the routine
and the prospect of
getting the toy reward
at the end is a bench-
mark moment forever
engrained within me —
I did not gain a sense of
dependency and loyalty
to Dixfield. As a toddler,
you go with the flow.
By contrast, I see
there is a strong sense of loss over
the pending closing of the Hiller's
stores — or as we Detroit natives
know it, "Shopping Center:' That's
"Shopping Center," not Shopping
Center Market or Hiller's Market
— just "Shopping Center," the place
that had the best meat and chicken
selection.
So where will we go to buy our
groceries? Are we going to succumb
to a chain — such as Kroger or opt
for the millennials' haven at Whole
Foods?
The greater question is why did
we go to Shopping Center anyway?
Was it because many of our parents
started going there when the origi-
nal store opened on Greenfield and
10 Mile? I think, in part, that is the
case; but also because it continued
to hold its local flavor rather than
being one of the big chains.
When Hiller's closing was
announced, a quick thought turned
to Johnny Pomodoro's at 14 Mile
and Middlebelt, a locally owned
and community-based market.
With change comes opportunity,
so I felt excitement for my friend
Dan Sonnenberg, owner of Johnny
Pomodoro's, and was not surprised
to see his pointed marketing effort
to maximize the chance of serving
those Shopping Center customers
who don't get excited about "let's go
Krogering!"
There certainly is a benefit to
being able to walk up to the owner
of the grocery store and say, "Hey,
Danny, can you stock this item? It's
a great gluten-free pita bread that I
used to buy at Shopping Center."
I can't see petitioning Kroger to
add a new product, but now
I know an option does exist
to cover the losses.
Some events and closures
create obvious transition
opportunities, whereas oth-
ers are slower to materialize.
Northland was the world's
largest shopping center
when it opened in March
1954. Sixty years later, it is
closed. The memories we
native Detroiters have of
Northland are endless. It's
impossible for me to iden-
tify one memory as more remark-
able than the others — there are too
many.
While I'm sure the other mall
operators have targeted the market
area to attract those shoppers to
their malls, the bigger question is
what happens to that massive tract
of land?
Will it become another dormant
vast empty space like Summit Place
in Waterford or will someone rein-
vent the area in similar fashion to
the Tel-Twelve Mall?
The answer is that something will
eventually happen with Northland
and Summit Place — so opportunity
does exist. It is, however, a matter
of time, investment and risk. Until
each of those variables fall into
alignment, we will have to wait it
out.
In the meantime, we have eas-
ier alternatives when it comes to
"Where can I find the Nathan's dill
pickles?" ❑
Ken Gross is an attorney with Thav
Gross and host of Law and Reality that
airs weekly at 8:30 a.m. Saturdays on
WDFN 1130 AM, "The Fan" and 11 a.m.
Sunday on TV20.