ORGANIC EXPANSION
Homeland update pleases downtown area grocery customers
“A game-changer.” That’s how resident Chad Whitehead and others who live in downtown and its surrounding neighborhoods are reacting after learning that Homeland plans a $2 million overhaul of its store at 1108 NW 18.
“We are excited about it,” said Jake Fisher, who has lived with his wife, Kristin, on downtown’s west side for about three years.
Currently, they split their shopping between several major grocery retailers that have outlets in Nichols Hills, north Oklahoma City, and even as far away as Norman.
They also shop at a boutique grocer downtown, but said that store doesn’t carry a wide enough selection of products to meet all their needs.
Kristin Fisher said she usually decides on where she will shop based upon where she will be headed on any given day.
“I just try to work it into other errands.
“A Homeland that’s renovated? I am very happy about that,” Kristin Fisher said.
The store at NW 18 and Classen Boulevard was built by Safeway in 1972 as a replacement for an older store the company opened on the north end of the same block in 1952. Additionally, it appears a Safeway store operated on that block since 1929, at 1913 Classen Blvd.
Inside and out
The renovation will modernize its exterior. But Marc Jones, Homeland’s CEO, and Brian Haaraoja, its senior vice president of merchandising and marketing, are most excited about what the company plans to do with the store’s 22,000-square-foot interior.
The first thing customers will see when they enter the renovated store will be an area featuring organic and fresh foods, including fresh leaf salads and meals customers can take home to prepare, reheat or enjoy when they get to their destinations.
Homeland also will install a new bakery and deli, where shoppers can buy fresh-baked breads, sushi, pizza, sandwiches and other entrees, plus a meat service counter with expanded offerings of Red River Ranch beef, poultry and fish.
Jones and Haaraoja said the renovation aims to recapture a share of shoppers it has lost to organic-themed retailers and restaurants.
Consumers generally are seeking healthy alternatives that are convenient, Haaraoja said, noting the store plans to expand its line of organic and clean-label products it offers there.
Neighborhoods surrounding the store have both older and younger residents, and this renovation seeks to help meet the wishes of consumers who not only shop there, but others who have taken the time to complete online surveys about the issue.
Customers’ wants, needs
The company intends to continue meeting with neighborhood groups to make sure its plans are on the correct path.
“As we go through this remodel, I hope we will find some things that people love that we decide to offer in our other stores, too,” Jones said. “But we aren’t approaching this in a cookie-cutter fashion.
“We will ask folks who shop in each store what they are looking for, as well as each store’s staff about what they need to be successful,” he said. “This is a unique store, and we want to make sure we do it right.”
While Jones noted Homeland has stores in five states, he was quick to add the company’s heritage is 100 years of feeding Oklahomans.
“We are refocusing on that,” he said. “We want to make sure we are going down the right path.”
Chad Whitehead, who lives in Jefferson Park with his family, celebrates Jones’ motivation.
“The impact of its remodel will be felt, even here,” said Whitehead, who remarked he drives as much as a half-hour to obtain the organic groceries he often buys.
And while living in downtown or its surrounding neighborhoods already is an attractive option, getting a nice grocery store in the neighborhood really makes the concept even more desirable for anyone considering making that move, Whitehead said.
“Having a legitimate grocery store this close by is a game-changer,” said Whitehead.