Bottom Dollar? Valu King? How About Wal-Mart?

If a shopping plaza has two large vacancies, most residents hope for something new to come to the area or for an old favorite to relocate to a better location. When the old Goodwill and Roomful Express spaces became available at Ross Towne Center, I immediately thought about moving a few Northway tenants there so the mall could be demolished to make room for restaurants. Others imagined new chains coming to the area.

We did indeed get two new chains for the area, but neither is causing a ton of excitement. One is Bottom Dollar Food, a discount grocery store in the vein of Food 4 Less (formerly in Wexford). The other is Valu-King, a low-end Giant Eagle, which will make its first appearance in the area with its new stores. These stores are going to be directly next to each other.

There is plenty of argument in favor of more grocery stores in the North Hills. Currently, Giant Eagle is the frontrunner, with two stores along McKnight Road, one in West View, one on Camp Horne Road, and one nearby in Glenshaw. Factor in the Brighton Road location and Market District in Pine as well, both of which are close enough to the McKnight corridor, and it’s evident Giant Eagle has monopolization in mind. All of these stores have the bells and whistles expected of a modern grocer.

The modernized Giant Eagles, along with Target opening its first location in the region in 1999, drove out Amarraca, a popular upscale grocery store located where the Toyota service facility on Browns Lane is today. When Amarraca closed in May 2000, many mourned the loss of a store known for the quality of its products, friendliness of its employees, and slower-paced atmosphere conducive to an enjoyable shopping experience. I enjoyed shopping at Amarraca but honestly can’t say the same about Giant Eagle.

Are there any alternatives? Off the top of my head, I can think of three Targets in the vicinity, although none are Greatland or Super Target stores. Still, Target has an impressive grocery selection and even carries a decent amount of organic products. Kuhn’s has a presence in Ingomar and on McKnight Road but is a rather minor player in the market. Most people who go to Kuhn’s seem to shop there for the specials. Shop n Save is the same way in its two North Hills location (as well as its Shaler store). There is nothing particularly great about either Kuhn’s or Shop n Save. None carry much in the way of organic products, the meat is typically prepackaged, and the stores are old and feel antiquated. (The neon signs at the Rochester Road Shop n Save bring about strong feelings of nostalgia; the store itself almost looks like something from an old movie).

Two newer entries are Aldi and Whole Foods. Aldi (which, like Nordstrom, is never written with a possessive) sells mostly store brand items. Not everyone is comfortable buying brands like Happy Farms, Reeva, or Millville, and while many go for the low prices, plenty of folks pass Aldi by when shopping for groceries. Whole Foods specializes in natural and organic products and is a favorite of the “Anti High Fructose Corn Syrup Gang” (of which I am a member) and those who prefer simple foods made from real ingredients, not rejected chemicals from eighth grade general science class.

The rest have come and gone. In the local history books are Kroger, A&P, Phar-Mor (which had some grocery items), Thorofare, Foodland, Viola’s, Festival, and Shopper’s Choice, among others.

It’s hard to see where discount grocers will fit in this picture. Many like to groan about Giant Eagle’s prices, but everyone still begrudgingly shops there unless they are willing to drive to Cranberry, Robinson, or Gibsonia to go to Wal-Mart. (The Gibsonia Wal-Mart isn’t a SuperCenter but does have a good amount of dry groceries). I don’t mind the drive to Gibsonia, but I try to avoid Cranberry and Robinson if possible. Neither is going to win an award for traffic or layout. If I want lower prices on everyday grocery items, do I want to give either of these newcomers a try once they open?

There is some excitement about Bottom Dollar Food. I’ve never been to a Bottom Dollar, but I have been to their sister store, Food Lion, which is ubiquitous in the south. Food Lion was one of the least impressive grocers I ever had the privilege of visiting. The store wasn’t crowded at all, the selection was minimal (Co-Go’s has more yogurt than Food Lion!), and the locals in the particular town I had stopped in recommended Wal-Mart SuperCenter as a primary grocery store. Bottom Dollar also has a strike against it from me due to their annoying commercials featuring a talking piggy bank. While they aren’t airing at present, they were all over the airwaves this past winter. I usually can tolerate bad commercials, but there are times I have no choice but to flip the channel when they come on (Bottom Dollar is one example; the other notable commercial I had to turn away from was the spot for Roomful Express featuring a chair calling out to a woman not named Stella).

I’ll try to approach Bottom Dollar with an open mind, but I’m not getting my hopes up. However, I’m even less thrilled with Valu King. Why open a discount grocery store directly next to another one? This will not only take away from Bottom Dollar’s business, it will also jeopardize Valu King itself! Valu King seems to have an “I’m gonna dominate” attitude since they’re owned by Giant Eagle, but there are as many people who abhor Giant Eagle as those who love it out there.

The North Hills doesn’t need either store. What they need is a Wal-Mart SuperCenter. There seems to be this attitude out there that Wal-Mart will bring a ton of problems, namely higher traffic levels. The pundits who come up with theories will look at Cranberry, where traffic flows about as quickly as molasses runs through a sieve, yet they won’t realize Cranberry has problems in of itself even without a Wal-Mart SuperCenter.

Cranberry is an interchange which rivals only Breezewood for confusion. It’s the home of busy exits along both I-79 (there are two) and I-76 (the PA Turnpike). Add in the unexpected growth of Route 228, the expansion of nearby residential areas such as Seven Fields, and the exponential big box store growth along Route 19 and it’s evident the area was poorly-planned to begin with, especially since everything was built around existing structures (such as Cranberry Mall). Toss in Thorn Hill Industrial Park and Treesdale while you’re at it and it’s obvious the planning was poor, and not because of Wal-Mart. (In fact, when Wal-Mart opened in 1991 as a standard store, it added very little in the way of traffic; a signal was set up at Short Street, but nothing else needed to be done).

There are also concerns about Wal-Mart being anti-competitive. However, Wal-Marts often peacefully coexist among grocery stores, other discount retailers, mall stores, and small businesses. Yes, I’ll repeat–they do fine among small businesses as long as said small businesses are strong enough to survive.

Again, the pundits will point to the Gibsonia Wal-Mart as a problem for other businesses. Within a year of its opening, the Gibsonia area lost its Ames and K-Mart. If you’re keeping score at home, you already know the entire Ames corporation went out of business in 2002, the same year Wal-Mart opened there. K-Mart was also suffering at the time and was closing a few underperforming stores. (The closing of the Gibsonia store was actually a bit controversial; several of my classmates at Hampton High School were quite upset when it happened and one even wore his brother’s old work uniform to school out of protest and I know of at least a few who still missed the store a year later).

Yes, there are plenty who point to Wal-Mart being the only true source for groceries and other goods in a smaller area. Wooster, OH comes to mind. The Wal-Mart is the keystone of Milltown Mall and does indeed loom large along Burbank Road.

Of course, Wal-Marts also tend to pop up among larger retail areas. Heading a bit further south in Ohio, let’s examine the Easton Wal-Mart. Located in a huge retail complex in Columbus which includes the unique, Disney-esque Easton Town Center, the Wal-Mart does fine amidst the other players. Yes, there are few, if any, locally-owned businesses in this area, but Wal-Mart hasn’t exactly put out the stores which sell similar goods.

As some readers know, Wal-Mart owns a large plot of land along McKnight Road, encompassing the old McCrackin Ford dealer, the former Sam’s Club warehouse (which is part of Wal-Mart to begin with), and a few other parcels around the area. Across the street is Ross Park Mall, featuring some of the poshest boutiques in the tri-state area. Ross Towne Center is next door. Also in the vicinity is big box capital North Hills Village, a handful of strip malls, the dying Shoppes at Northway, and a few standalone big box stores. Most of the “mom and pop” businesses are gone from the area, with a few holding on in less-dense commercial districts such as the Perrysville Business District.

When Sam’s Club was operational along McKnight Road, most customers entered through a driveway between a Mattress World store and the Ford dealer. It wasn’t always ideal, but it was functional. Still, an expansion would be more than ideal for this purpose. What would make for the best possible entrance to a Wal-Mart in a busy business district?

Let’s look outside Cranberry and Gibsonia for a moment. In fact, let’s take a trip to the outskirts of a small city called Rock Hill, SC. This little metropolis is about a half hour from Charlotte and while it may never win an award for being an exciting city, the civil engineer who designed the galleria area definitely wins an award in my book.

Rock Hill Galleria, a mall with three department store anchors, features a Super Wal-Mart as its fourth anchor. The Wal-Mart is not accessible from within the mall but is a popular destination and arguably the area’s most popular grocery retailer. While the area can get somewhat crowded depending on the time of day, the bustling Wal-Mart, which even features a gas station in its parking lot, doesn’t add a ton of traffic, even while sharing space with a mall and outparcel restaurants. The reason–multiple entrances.

There are three intersections with signals along Dave Lyle Boulevard (the main road in this region of Rock Hill) which allow for entrance to the Galleria (and Wal-Mart). This eases congestion significantly. It’s true Dave Lyle will never be as congested as McKnight Road, as it doesn’t connect the equivalent of a downtown Pittsburgh to a bunch of Ingomars and Franklin Parks, but there are plenty of commercial and residential structures near the mall to add traffic.

Although McKnight and Dave Lyle are two completely different animals, there is still a lesson to be learned here: multiple entrances are a must. Ross Park Mall has two entrances with signals and one without. Most sources seemed to accept the creation of another major intersection along McKnight Road when Wal-Mart was planning to build several years ago. This is going to be the hardest part.

In some towns, namely Columbus, the rule seems to basically be “bulldoze what you’ve got and build it so it fits whatever purpose you need right now”. This is the exact opposite of the retrofit-happy “build around whatever’s there as long as you don’t demolish whatever means something to Person X” culture of Pittsburgh.

In my mind, the best thing to do is create an intersection at Old McKnight Road. Unfortunately, there is a Mattress World store (formerly Kuppenheimer Clothing) directly in the way. Why not move it to one of McKnight’s vacant stores? This would allow for a practical intersection to be built and would also help Ross Park Mall by making the third entrance available to southbound traffic.

The second entrance to Wal-Mart would be the current Ross Towne Center entrance. Assuming the two new grocers fail, this would be a perfect entrance, as it doesn’t take in a ton of traffic to begin with. Wal-Mart would be accessible from within the plaza. In fact, businesses in Ross Towne Center would also benefit from the additional traffic.

How about a third way into Wal-Mart? Maybe something from the back? It could be done. Anyone who ever took Kentzel Drive into Chi-Chi’s knows this is a definite possibility as long as the road is expanded properly. This would also eliminate concerns about more traffic turning left onto McKnight from eastbound Siebert Road.

Siebert could be a concern for some. This intersection is the biggest bottleneck on McKnight Road, and unfortunately, it’s a result of geography. It is impossible, given the layout of the road, to have both eastbound and westbound traffic turn left simultaneously. Similarly, in Cranberry, Freedom Road tends to be the source of congestion on Route 19. However, with multiple entrances, Wal-Mart shouldn’t cause traffic to back up much more than it already does.

Forget Bottom Dollar. Forget Valu King. What we really need in Ross is a Wal-Mart. The spaces where the grocers are about to go could be far better utilized as a new location for one of the Northway stores, perhaps Dick’s or PetSmart, should the mall be demolished to make way for new restaurants. The traffic concerns should be minimal if the project is engineered correctly and the demands of the residents, the majority of whom seem to be in favor of a Wal-Mart, would be satisfied. It would also be a nice competitor for Giant Eagle, as their apparent price gouging would be better displayed and a true rival grocery store could be introduced.

(For the record, Trader Joe’s is also apparently interested in the North Hills, which would be a far better addition than a discount grocer, which almost seems irrelevant with both Kuhn’s and Aldi along McKnight. Also, for those who like discounted organic products, Wal-Mart does have a few here and there; I was able to find my favorite organic Greek yogurt, Stonyfield, at the Wal-Mart in Rock Hill, proof that even a small town SuperCenter stocks a pretty nice variety and yet another warning that if this store gets built, Giant Eagle could suffer tremendously).