Homeland Grocery Stores

[benjico]

Finally, a real butcher stand!!!

[jompster]

I hope they leave it alone when they finish and don't paint everything bright white and change it to a Cash Saver.

[shawnw]

Surely this shows their commitment to this store, though we'll see in 3-5 years if it's looking ratty...

[Pete]

Remember, they have a relatively new CEO and other leadership.

They deserve credit for do this and doing it right, especially since that business in general is not very profitable.

[shawnw]

Agree. I didn't believe it until I saw it happening. Now that I've seen it, I have some faith, though it's tenuous for now.

[Bits_Of_Real_Panther]

Stopped by and the store feels roomier inside. And I'm glad that old deli is a thing of the past.

Its a nice update.

Their prices still suck.

[Pete]

That old deli when you first walked in was nasty and smelly and ugly.

Thank goodness it was one of the first things to go.

[shawnw]

From Nextdoor. And not about missing/found animals, local crime, or code enforcement!

Note Grand Opening 11 July.

[Pete]

From Nextdoor. And not about missing/found animals, local crime, or code enforcement!

Note Grand Opening 11 July.

The July 11th date was in our last article.

[shawnw]

Oh oops

[Pete]

They now have the new entrance and eastern section completely open, although they are still stocking and cleaning up.

Looks like the only big thing left before the July 11th re-grand opening is to finish the parking lot.

[HangryHippo]

This looks great! Night and day difference.

[Pete]

It's super nice -- better than I think most were expecting.

I'm jealous because I used to live right down the street and put up with that old place which never failed to depress me.

[pw405]

Wow, what a dramatic improvement... finally a true grocery store for the city's core.

Forgive me if this has already been discussed, but how did the majority of Homeland's in the metro undergo a change of ownership/branding, but (according to quick Google maps search) only 3 stores appear to have kept their namesake?

[Pete]

Homeland has a new CEO and director of marketing and they are trying to make needed changes.

But they inherited a dying company in an industry with razor-thin margins, getting pressured both from deep discounters like Aldi, Winco, Crest, Sam's Club and Walmart and at the upper end with Whole Foods, Sprouts, Trader Joe's etc. All over the US, the traditional main-stream grocery stores are struggling.

I give them a lot of credit for not only doing this renovation but doing it right.

And I know their prices don't rival Walmart but to me it's worth spending a bit more for a full-featured store that provides a nice environment.


This may sound melodramatic but when I moved back to OKC 2 years ago this store made me feel worse about being here. That it could even exist in that form reflected so badly on the core.

But now, I feel the opposite. I'm really pleased they made this big investment at a time when their company is hurting and when it's downtown's only full scale grocer.

Traffic already seems to be up significantly. I hope they are rewarded by good crowds.

[shawnw]

Having lived a few blocks away for six years and thus a regular of this store, recently while driving by the parking lot was literally the fullest I've ever seen it.

[Urbanized]

Regarding prices, if you are a regular shopper there - or even an occasional shopper - I highly recommend getting a Homeland card. I’ve never gotten marketing or anything else as a result, but I can tell you that last night as an example I had goods which rang up for $105, and after I gave the cashier my Homeland card my total was $91. I get this level of savings over marked retail every time I shop there.

In other words, while their marked prices may be more than places like Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market, I believe the out-the-door prices for regulars is much more competitive.

[soonermike81]

Wow, place looks really good. Now the question is, how long will it look like that? Grocery stores will only continue being a pleasant place to shop as long as the people working there and the people shopping there take care of it.

[Urbanized]

^^^^^^
They installed some new managers there in anticipation of this move and I have had multiple conversations with their managers. They are extremely motivated and have firm plans to keep it this way. The way they have merchandised has been exactly as they described to me. I have no doubt about the commitment to this location.

[OKCRT]

If they would have upgraded all their stores like this I think we would still have them all over the city. That store was in bad shape back in the 70s-80s and this was log overdue. I looks great an I bet they do very well.

[Pete]

The only other nicer store they have at May & Britton seems to do pretty well.

I wonder how they are doing since Uptown Grocers opened. UG also got incentives from The Village.

[soonermike81]

^^^^^^
They installed some new managers there in anticipation of this move and I have had multiple conversations with their managers. They are extremely motivated and have firm plans to keep it this way. The way they have merchandised has been exactly as they described to me. I have no doubt about the commitment to this location.

Definitely good to hear.

[Johnb911]

The only other nicer store they have at May & Britton seems to do pretty well.

I wonder how they are doing since Uptown Grocers opened. UG also got incentives from The Village.

Small sample size: We live just north of May and west of Britton. Used to go to Homeland a decent amount for the 'need it quick' trips. Those all go to Uptown now, though every once in a while I pop over to Homeland for Promised Land chocolate milk, or 3 for $12 flowers. Store always seems as 'busy' as it ever was. Things still look great/clean/bright.

I'll hand it to Homeland here. I thought for sure once the Natural Grocer's deal at the Gold Dome was dead, they'd back off the remodel, knowing they didn't have to deal with increased competition. But they went through with it and I hope it pays off. 10 years ago (jeez...10 years?!?) when I first moved to OKC I lived in an apartment in Mesta Park on 20th street. I would drive all the way west to go to Crest instead of shop at this Homeland. Glad they seemed to have turned this one around.

Off topic but on Thursday I got a tip about $0.49 twelve packs of coke products when purchased from Homeland through Instacart. It was definitely a messup, but they honored it and I got 33 twelve packs for $31.50 after tax/tip/delivery fee. So if anybody needs some pop...

[OKCbyTRANSFER]

I'm liking the improvements, nice to see the buzz in this store. It's such a big difference in what we previously had. The employees even seem happier and it appears to be busy. Looking forward to the grand opening when it's completely finished.

[Pete]

Our news partner KFOR and Lacey Lett have a video update today:

https://kfor.com/2018/07/05/sneak-pe...source=twitter