I just heard on another board that the Homeland at 104th and S. Penn in the Chatenay shopping center is closing the last day of December. Can anyone confirm this? Is something else going in it's place?
I just heard on another board that the Homeland at 104th and S. Penn in the Chatenay shopping center is closing the last day of December. Can anyone confirm this? Is something else going in it's place?
Sad to hear this.
Right smack between a Crest and a Neighborhood WM.. and eventually a Sprouts would have been a few blocks away. Can't compete.
I wish somebody would come in a buy up the remaining Homelands as the company seems to be dying a slow death. Reasor's would be a perfect candidate (it would be so nice if OKC had grocery stores of that caliber). All of the trashy Homelands have shuttered and now the nicer ones are starting to go. My guess is that only reason the 18th and Classen store is still open is because it's the only grocery store anywhere in the urban core, unless you count the Asian supermarkets.
Just a random thing -- but the Homeland off 24th/Robinson in Norman sells (or sold) Reasor's brand packaged foods (salads, sandwiches, etc). Not sure how they acquired those items, but I've bought a few of them before.
But what does Reasor's do differently that would save these locations from going out of business? I was under the impression that the razor thin margins in the grocery business mean you need serious volume to justify staying open.
Reasor's as a brand has a much more positive perception and their stores are typically managed better than Homeland. I would say Reasor's is more comparable to grocery stores like Kroger. The Homeland brand has somewhat of a stigma and rightfully so due to how poorly many of their locations are/were managed. Rebranding would give the existing locations at least a temporary boost. Also, when the new liquor laws go into effect, that should be a nice shot in the arm for Oklahoma grocery stores.
Wonder if they will convert it to a cash saver like the others or just be done with it. This was the nicest Homeland I’d ever been in.
From what I know, Trader Joe's is not looking for any more locations in Oklahoma at this time.
yeah... i'm pretty sure that space would be way larger than the typical trader joe's.
really wish the timing would have worked out so that sprouts would have occupied this space.
I thought this was supposed to be the wealthiest part of OKC?
http://www.pbodom.com/
The asian supermarket seems not likely in my opinion, as there is one just down the road at SW89th and Penn, unless they are enticing them to move. Pete, does Odom still own that Chatenay Square, or did he sell it? He is a different Duck, but Odom has kept that place at capacity with quality stores, but Homeland left a big space to fill.
Absolutely correct. There was a very bizarre transaction between Odom and the old Buchanan's grocery and some forgotten third party about what was supposed to be the original tenant for the grocery space in Chatenay, which I believe was Baker's. Amid the bankruptcies/consolidations going on in the grocery industry at that time, Baker's backed out, but the owner was on the hook to provide a tenant. Homeland at 89th was, at the time, planning to remodel that store, but a third party came along and said "hey, Homeland, rather than remodel, just move into this nice, new store in Chatenay, " which they did.
Amid all this was an overture by Odom supposedly to the Buchanan family to build them a brand new store on the then-empty parcel just south of 89th to replace their venerable, oft-expanded, but then-aging location on the NW corner of SW 89th and Penn. They declined, and were ultimately unable to keep pace with Homeland and had to fold their tents after becoming an IGA affiliate for a time. They became involved, IIRC, as their supplier/distributor was going to end up owning a store that would be a direct competitor.
I used to know a LOT more detail on this, as we had family friends that worked at Buchanan's and other entities in the area that kept up with the business interests and knew what was going on in amazing detail. There were a lot more moving parts to it than I remember now.
i'm not sure what that has to do with anything. homeland has been struggling to compete in general and has lots of new competition in the area since this particular store was built. i don't think this is a question of a part of town not being able to support a given store but a store that has failed to stay relevant amidst increasing competion.
Homeland is simply a poorly run company that seems to be very complacent (and that is becoming their undoing). I think any other mid-tier grocer i.e. Kroger, H-E-B, Reasor's, or even Harps would have adapted and survived. Homeland on the other hand is still operating like its the 1980s. Last time I was in that location, you could tell that it was once a very nice grocery store but that Homeland had let it go.
If a quality mid-tier grocer ever decided to enter the OKC market I doubt Homeland would last very long.
Chatenay Square really has kept itself up throughout the years. It's a nice property so I hope whoever occupies the old Homeland can keep it thriving.
The Trader Joe's rumor probably arose from the FB page of the Knigswood neighborhood - at least that is where I saw it. I know someone involved in helping Odom fill the space and he said the TJ rumor is completely false.
Gotta believe Odom will get that space filled. It's had a rough time from the outset, between Homeland and Albertson's. Sprout's would have been a natural fit. Wonder if Odom might pursue an out-of-the-box candidate that might be more interested in an "inaugural" presence in OK due to pending liquor law changes...? Just speculating...
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