We've been taking a deep dive this week on one of the places where we all spend the most money -- the grocery store. So far, that means you've heard a lot about the two locally-owned supermarkets.
But that could change. There is a new option coming.
Meijer plans an expansion to the Metro East, specifically Glen Carbon, just south of Edwardsville. Meijer is based in Michigan. It's a supercenter, like Walmart, selling clothes, electronics, home goods, etc., but with fresh food instead of general merchandise at the center of the layout.
"One good thing about the Metro East is that people are willing to go bigger distances to shop at a particular store, so they have a different consumer pattern there. That is a good area to get started in," says longtime local business analyst Juli Niemann at Smith Moore.
The developer of the Glen Carbon store is also behind efforts to transform Chesterfield Mall into Downtown Chesterfield. Does that mean west county near Highway 40 could be the site of the second metro area Meijer?
Developer Michael Staenberg says multiple companies are vying for a spot in the redevelopment and acknowledges his Meijer connection.
"We have a grocery store location in our development and we now have four grocery stores interested in it," Staenberg tells KMOX, but, of course, "I really am not at liberty to disclose their names."
Meijer corporate tells us they're not ready to comment on St. Louis yet.
Niemann questions if there's room for another entrant into the marketplace.
"In St. Louis, you do have too any alternatives," she says. Menards carries a small portion of foods and other things, but they tend to be really 'off' and different things. Nobody can beat Walmart for one major thing: these are the biggest distributors in the United States and they have huge pricing power."
Retail analyst Burt Flickinger says he expects more Meijer stores to open in the region. He also says "the wildcard in all of this is WinCo Foods."
The heavy-discount chain, he says, is "an employee-owned company, highest dollar sales per foot, highest dollar sales per store, about double what Walmart does. WinCo moved successfully from the west coast to Texas and Oklahoma," Flickinger says. "I think you'll have a 'war of the worlds' there in two of the best big-box chains with Aldi and WinCo Foods."
There's also BJ's Wholesale Club pushing closer, opening in Nashville, But Niemann doesn't see a reason for people here to leave Sams Club or Costco.