End of an Era - The Last Kmart in the Midwest Closes: Kmart #3841, Marshall, Mich. (#8)

As this post is published at 8:00 PM EST, November 21, 2021, the very last Kmart in the Midwestern United States is closing its doors for the last time. The chain, founded by Detroit-based S.S. Kresge and based in Oakland County, Michigan until 2006, is now without a store in the state it once called home. Following the closure of the Sears at Woodfield Mall a week prior, the Marshall, Michigan Kmart store was, at the time of its closing, the nearest Transformco-owned retail store to the company's Hoffman Estates, Illinois headquarters, 218 miles away from the office of Eddie Lampert.

The Midwest's last Kmart was in Marshall, a city of 7,000 near the confluence of I-69 and I-94 in southwestern Michigan. Located in the Marshall Plaza, a stripmall right off I-69, the now-closed store's neighbors include a Rite Aid pharmacy and a Family Fare supermarket. The 36,000-square foot store opened for business on November 15, 1990, and closed for the last time 31 years and six days later. I paid the store a visit one day prior to its closure.

At the door, I was greeted by a sign informing me that the store's pharmacy had closed, and that customer records and prescriptions were transferred to the Rite Aid eight doors down. The notice, and the store itself, both bore the new Rite Aid logo.

Also closed, but probably for longer, was the store's Little Caesars Pizza Station. All of the signage, and the restaurant itself, appeared completely intact, though blocked by shelves.

The pizza chain's logo adorns the building in a 2018 Street View image, and a Google Maps review implies the Pizza Station was open as recently as this past February. A labelscar on the building's exterior marks where the fellow Garden City-born chain once had its sign.

(Google Street View, 8/2018)

The customer service desk could have easily been original, bearing the triangles characteristic of 1990s Kmart decor. Above it was the only 2000s-era Kmart department sign remaining in the store.

Entering the store, racks of apparel, including branded merchandise from various college sports teams, separated the entrance and checkouts from a largely barren sales floor. Empty racks made up the perimeter of a massive expanse of white vinyl tile. To the right were the fitting rooms, sporting their original "red triangle" sign.

Some remaining home items adorned a few shelves to the left. Beyond them lay more shelves, though empty, leading to an empty space at the edge of the store, where the last row of shelves once stood. A couple more triangles adorned the walls, as did two emergency exits, which once led to the garden center.

In the back corner was the disused layaway desk, and a surprisingly clean restroom. The store's other restroom closed with the Pizza Station earlier this year.

What really amazed me about this section of the store, though, was what lay below the shelves for years, before it was exposed during the closing sale. Everything from price tags and item packages to product brochures and confidential Sears Holdings documents were stuck to the floor.

Try as I might, I wasn't able to remove much from the dusty floor. Most of it was stuck pretty tightly, and I even ended up tearing a Blue Light Always tag trying to peel it off. I did end up getting three early 2010s shelf price tags (one of which was for a Kellogg's product, fitting given the store's proximity to Battle Creek), and a few other miscellaneous labels.

Nearby, a large swath of the back of the store was mostly walled off with empty shelves, some of which bore 2010s-looking item signs. 

An old Samsung CRT TV adorned a display that likely had auto parts before.

After exploring this area, I proceeded back toward the apparel, where a Kmart employee donning a gray suit noticed me taking pictures, and told me that photography wasn't permitted in the store. He was unswayed when I told him my rationale, that I sought to preserve Kmart's history on the Marshall store's last day. Undeterred, I proceeded to the fixtures section, which consisted mostly of shelves, clothing racks, filing cabinets, electrical and restroom equipment.

I had no luck trying to buy old Kmart signage. I guess my fellow retail enthusiasts must have beaten me, as two employees I asked told me that they'd sold out of department signs. A third told me that the endcap signs weren't for sale. Hiding behind one such sign was an older one, dated 2014.

Before leaving, I was happy to stumble upon an old Kmart price scanner. I have fond childhood memories of these from my local store, so it was nice to see one again.

Now completely gone from its native Midwest, Kmart faces a grim future, with fewer than 20 stores to remain open at year's end. I'm glad I got to visit Kmart one last time, and document the Marshall store for my readers.

Thanks for shopping Oakland County Retail! My next post will feature an interesting conversion from a restaurant to a gas station.

Changing Hands: The Raiders Store at Oakland Community College (#7)

Oakland Community College's small retail scene has seen recent changes beyond the addition of Market Twenty Four Seven. The college's "Raiders Store" bookstores recently underwent a change in management, and are now operated by Follett, who also operates the bookstores at Michigan State University and two other Detroit-area colleges, Macomb Community College and the Wayne County Community College District. 

Each of OCC's five campuses is home to a Raiders Store, stocking textbooks, school and office supplies, college apparel and other merchandise. The Raiders Stores at all five OCC campuses closed with the college's closure in March 2020, and upon OCC's in-person reopening, only the Auburn Hills and Orchard Ridge campus bookstores reopened in October, running a clearance sale in preparation for the change in management. Almost all items in the two locations were marked down to 50-75% off regular price.

This post will focus on the location at the Orchard Ridge campus in Farmington Hills. The Orchard Ridge Raiders Store is located next to Market Twenty 4 Seven, on the first floor of building J.

Part of the store extends out from the west side of building J's first floor, with a sidewalk and a patch of grass on top. Glass skylights in the store's ceiling allow pedestrians to view the store below.

The Raiders Stores at Auburn Hills and Orchard Ridge reopened on October 11th, and the clearance sale was in full swing.

Much of the apparel was sold before I visited on the 19th. Since almost all Fall 2021 classes were already in progress, the textbook section was closed, but a selection of office supplies, art supplies, OCC-branded merchandise, and various odds and ends were on sale at deep discounts. Various electronics were on shelves in the back, such as media cables, smartwatches, and even a small television.

It was truly amazing how old and outdated their leftover merchandise was, from fidget spinners (soooo 2017) to an XD-Picture Card, a long-outdated flash media format last produced in 2009.

Similarly outdated were some of the store's shopping baskets, featuring a 1990s OCC logo. The baskets could be mounted on cart frames, similar to the cart-and-basket setup of Little Green Apple Hallmark stores. Wheeled baskets were also available.

The store planned to end its clearance sale and temporarily close on Thursday, October 21, but ended up staying open through the 22nd to serve participants in the college's charity 5K run. I asked the cashier the reason for the store's closing, and she replied that Follett was taking over bookstore operations, and that the store was closing for the transition. I visited a couple of times while the store was closed, and saw Follett employees working inside.

The Orchard Ridge Raiders Store reopened under Follett on November 8th, with surprisingly little change inside. The remaining electronics were gone, apparel had been restocked and rearranged, and a small selection of packaged food was added.

Follett's website suggests that only the Auburn Hills, Orchard Ridge, and Royal Oak locations have reopened, not mentioning the Highland Lakes or Southfield campus stores.

The company also teases renovations in store for next summer, but for now, the Raiders Stores remain largely the same as before Follett took over.

Thanks for shopping Oakland County Retail!
A new post tomorrow night will feature the closing Kmart in Marshall, the chain's last store in its home state of Michigan.

Automated Convenience: Market Twenty 4 Seven #941 at Oakland Community College (#6)

Small self-service convenience stores are an interesting concept, and they've seen lots of expansion over the years. Micromarkets, as they're called, have opened in thousands of office buildings and medical centers since the mid-2010s, offering quick (and overpriced) bites to eat for employees and patients. In recent years, micromarkets have begun opening on college campuses as well.

Oakland Community College saw the opening of a Market Twenty 4 Seven micromarket at each of its five campuses this fall. Market Twenty 4 Seven is the flagship brand of Continental, an Oakland County-based vending company. By a stroke of luck, I happened to be on OCC's Orchard Ridge campus on its Market Twenty 4 Seven's opening day, September 15th.

Orchard Ridge's Market Twenty 4 Seven is located near the cafeteria on the first floor of building J, the student center.

It's among the smallest microstores I've seen, in a space that formerly contained a row of vending machines. At one end is the checkout kiosk, and at the other is a microwave (for heating the Easy Mac or ramen they sell) and a coffee machine. This store sells a locally-produced brand of coffee, though oddly enough the location at the Royal Oak campus offers Starbucks instead.

Five coolers contain a pretty run-of-the-mill selection of soda, juice, energy drinks, bottled tea and water, plus a handful of packaged sandwiches and other grab-and-go lunches. Chips, candy, granola bars, packaged pastries, and beef jerky round out this Market Twenty 4 Seven's selection. 

The locations in OCC's other campuses are larger. The Auburn Hills micromarket takes up the former cafeteria serving line, and the Highland Lakes campus market, which opened on August 27th, is in a larger, more "store-like" space.

I have to give Continental credit for including some local products, even though they themselves are local. Dearborn brand sausage features prominently among the beef jerky, and the prepackaged meals come from "The Kitchen, Inc." of Sterling Heights.

What really hinders the success of Market Twenty 4 Seven, in my opinion, is the checkout. For one, the single self-checkout kiosk isn't enough for peak demand. During the lunch rush, it's not uncommon to see five or more students lined up to pay. That wouldn't be a problem... if not for the delays in operation.

Only two methods of payment are accepted: major credit cards and Market Twenty 4 Seven's own keytag-sized rechargeable card. Cash can only be used to add value to the in-house card. A name and email address are required to open an account, and an activation link in email must be clicked before it's used. Add on a finicky bill acceptor and you can probably see now how the checkout gets tied up...

Thankfully, once you've got an account, checking out is a breeze, just scan your items and card and you're out the door- that is, if the scanner picks up the barcodes properly. Some locations even offer fingerprint identification for payment. The user interface is plenty quick and easy to use, with large icons, especially when you cancel an order...

Above the kiosk is a display showing a live feed from a couple of the store's numerous security cameras. I guess this is to deter anyone from stealing, assuring them that if they try, they'll be caught on camera. Along with the camera views is a mirror of what's shown on the kiosk. I'm not crazy about it displaying names and email addresses entered for all to see, but then again it might be easier for others to see PII on the much larger display on the kiosk itself.

Another issue is that some of the coolers have electronic locks that seem to engage for no reason. If you want a Mile High Breakfast Burrito, you're out of luck if there's a red light on the cooler door. I've found myself unable to access the chilled snacks within on a couple of occasions, just in the past month or so since opening. Decals on the doors hint that they lock if left open too long, but try as I might, I wasn't able to get them to lock from extended opening, even when I kept them open double the suggested time. 

In partnership with FritoLay, Market Twenty 4 Seven is giving away cash prizes to customers who purchase qualifying chips and Grandma's cookies.

All in all, I like the micromarket concept, and I hope they iron out the issues, and add a second kiosk to the Orchard Ridge location. Having one of these at your place of work can be pretty convenient when you need a quick bite to eat, with better selection than a vending machine. There's also a lot of potential for integration with other systems here, such as in a transit station, where you could pay for your food with your transit card, or even with college payment cards like OCC's existing Raider Card.

In any case, I'm sure OCC's students will be glad to have a one-stop food shop at their disposal. It's definitely a convenient place to get a quick bite to eat.

Thanks for shopping Oakland County Retail! Next week's post will feature Market Twenty 4 Seven's neighbor at Orchard Ridge, the campus bookstore.