Goodrich’s, located in Trowbridge Plaza, was a nearby grocery stop for MSU students. And with its international, organic and store-made offerings, the grocer catered to a variety of tastes.
Although the store has been in East Lansing since 1967, it had been relocated from Lansing, where it had originally existed since 1937.
The long history came to an end because the owners were unable to negotiate a lease with Caddis Development Group, LLC, the site owners who plan to redevelop the shopping center and nearby areas.
To compensate for the $17 million redevelopment, which will include a four-story apartment building, Kevin McGraw, president of Caddis Development Group, LLC, said rents will have to increase, the Lansing State Journal reports. But the rent increase was too high for Goodrich’s to meet.
“I’ve gotten to know the (family) in the last couple of months. They are a great tenant, great people. My family shops there, but if they are the reason this project can’t be re-developed (that’s not good),” McGraw said in a prior interview with the State News. “You need modernization, there are very successful entities that want to come in and revitalize the area.”
Recent MSU alumna Emily Cieslak worked as a cashier at Goodrich’s for nearly two years. In the days leading up to the store’s close, Cieslak saw the community rally together firsthand.
“You can see how many people have come here all their lives,” Cieslak said. “It’s amazing how many people are affected by this. I’ve had a couple people come up to me. I try to be there for them. I know it’s hard for them, because they’ve been here for a long time, way longer than (I).”
East Lansing resident and longtime Goodrich’s shopper Sue Clay “had to come one last time to say goodbye” on Saturday.
Clay was first acquainted with the store in 1974, when she and her husband were living in Spartan Village. She described the store as “comfortable,” “cozy” and “personal.”
Be it a question about wine or meat, an employee was always ready with a suggestion she could trust in, Clay said.
Leading up to the store’s close, many of the shelves were picked clean and left unstocked — a foreign scene for Mary Beth Scheffel, a third generation ?Goodrich family member who said she was raised among the shelves.
“It’s been hard,” Scheffel, a co-owner of the store, said. “But certainly the outpouring of customers and people coming back — previous employees — just knowing that we did a lot for the community makes it more bearable. All the outpouring from the community has helped us get through this.”
Scheffel said she has plans to retire, and the owners currently have no intention to relocate or reopen another Goodrich’s location.
Goodrich’s will be replaced by Arizona-based Fresh Thyme Farmers Market, a natural foods grocery, the Lansing State Journal reports.
