Meijer Opens Avon Store On Tuesday

AVON, OH — Meijer's opened its first Avon store on Tuesday.

The store will have a grand opening celebration on May 14. The store is more than 155,000 square feet and will be open 24 hours a day. Promotional discounts and giveaways should start next week, May 19, the grocery chain said. The store will include a pharmacy.

The Avon Meijer's location also includes a gas station, which opened in advance of the grocery store.

The Avon store's director, Randy McCarty shared some of his biography on the Meijer website and thanked the community for welcoming the grocery store. "Thank you again for welcoming Meijer into the Avon community," he wrote. "I'm excited to be here and so grateful and honored to serve all your needs each and every day."

Meijer's is opening three Northeast Ohio stores on Tuesday. The other two locations are in Mentor and Stow. Meijer's Avon store is located on Nagel Road.

The Northeast Ohio stores were initially announced in late 2016. The Michigan-based grocery chain said it wanted to open several stores in Northeast Ohio by 2020. With three stores opening in May in Ohio, they're set to accomplish that goal and make a splash in the market.

"We're extremely excited to open the doors to our newest stores here in Northeast Ohio," said Tom Wilson, Regional Vice President, Meijer in April. "For the last forty years, customers across the state have enjoyed our fresh grocery options, wide selection of general merchandise and overall value. Now we're getting ready to bring our one-stop shopping experience to Avon, Mentor and Stow.

The presence of Meijer will mean increased competition for the region's customer base. There are already several grocery store options in Northeast Ohio including Giant Eagle and Heinen's.

As we noted in 2016, moving into is a natural progression for Meijer. The company is privately held, and family-owned. It operates 230 stores throughout Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Wisconsin, and Ohio. Expanding the presence in Northeast Ohio would make sense for a company looking for a strong foothold in the Midwest or Great Lakes region.

Meijer currently has 39 stores in the Buckeye State and employs approximately 10,000 people.