Suburbs

After my annual sabbatical to the Tampa Bay area, it is time to catch up on things. So, I may be a week behind on this story.

And trying to avoid repeating my colleague Abigail Warren.

But everyone loves a good mystery, right?

In this case, it is the Great Grocery Caper.

A week or so ago, reporter Michael Waddell wrote about a new grocery store headed to Union Depot, the mixed-use project near the crossroads of U.S. 70 and Stage Road/U.S. 64.

Of course, when the term grocer arises, it leads to the ongoing desire for Publix to arrive and set roots in West Tennessee. Commenters and social media posters get in a frenzy. And I, along with Warren, have touched on the Publix possibility in the past. Along with the pertinent quote from former Bartlett Mayor Keith McDonald, that Publix is popular because you are in vacation mode.

Of course, there is the absence-makes-the-heart-grow-fonder reason, too. Like the return of Whataburger to the local market or when Coors wasn’t available in this part of the country. There was a mystique about those products. They tasted better when you couldn’t get them here.

Is that the case with Publix? If it becomes the new store in the market, will paying a bit more offset the belief that Publix is better than others? It seems like that contributed to the exodus of Schnucks/Seessel’s here.

But what are some of the other possibilities for the Mystery Grocer? A disclaimer — I’ve got no idea and no insider information regarding the possible business. Just someone on the outside guessing with the rest of you.

Hy-Vee

The chain with more than 300 stores in the upper Midwest at least deserves some consideration since it previously looked at a potential spot in Bartlett before abandoning that idea. Is it possible that Hy-Vee could just be pondering a different Bartlett location?

Trader Joe’s

The popular store has a bit of history for being secretive about coming into the market. When it was planning the Germantown store — the first location in the Memphis metro area — things were very secretive. Even when it was clear that Trader Joe’s was moving into the former Kroger location on Exeter, they wouldn’t confirm it. Could they be the secretive store in Bartlett? They were rumored to have looked at a spot in East Memphis, so they seem to be considering another store around these parts. And good grief, that Germantown store is popular, popular enough for a second Trader Joe’s location.

Kroger

There’s a Kroger already nearby to the west, so that is one strike against it coming to Union Depot. I suppose they could build a new one and close the old store. But if it is Kroger, that would sure be a disappointing solution to the mystery.

Aldi

Similar to Kroger. A store about the same distance away on the west side of Kirby-Whitten, south of Stage. The proximity would seem to eliminate Aldi.

Superlo Foods

How about some love for the local folks? Superlo has nine stores in the market, according to its website, but only one is in a suburb — on Goodman Road in DeSoto County. Again, this is only an observation of a possible spot, but in a lot of cases, Superlo occupies a former existing store, so building a new store could present a challenge.

Cash Saver

See Superlo, but with only three locations right now. Could its fourth store end up in Bartlett?

The Field

Other possibilities include Fresh Market, Whole Foods, Sprouts, High Point Grocery or The Stock Market. Although The Stock Market only existed on paper in the ill-fated Lake District and never materialized.

And really, The Field is just to cover otherwise unthought of grocers, so that it looks like I know what the heck I’m talking about. - Clay Bailey, Suburbs editor

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