Ann Arbor's Bombay Grocers buys former Fantasy Attic store on Packard for expansion
A woman walks into Bombay Grocers, located at 3022 Packard Road. The Indian and Pakistani grocery store will be expanding by moving to the former location of the Fantasy Attic, located a few doors down.
Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com
An Indian grocery is moving forward with plans to expand on the east side of Ann Arbor - but instead of building a new store, Bombay Grocers will move a few doors west into an existing storefront.
Owners Mukesh and Bharti Patel bought the 8,000-square-foot building most recently home to Fantasy Attic on Packard, just east of Platt Road, in early March.
From left, Bhanu Patel and her sister-in-law Daksha Patel purchase vegetables from Bombay Grocers employee Milan Patel.
Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com
The building will become the new home for the store that has been based in the same block of the retail corridor for the past 10 years.
The 1,600-square-foot store is jammed to the ceiling with inventory that ranges from boxed mixes for Indian and Pakistani cuisine to bagged beans, spices, snacks, prepared foods in a small cooler and racks of Indian-language DVDs.
The couple has “no more choice” but to find more room for their ever-expanding product lines, Mukesh Patel said.
The Patels recognized the need for more space in 2007 when they bought property to the east, a lot at 3070 Packard that once housed a car wash. They planned to build a 5,000-square-foot store on the site, tripling their space.
However, the economy intervened.
The former Fantasy Attic on Packard.
Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com
“The building wasn’t for sale,” said Ron Dankert of Swisher Commercial, who listed the property for the former owners.
However, most of the people responding to the for-lease advertising raised the question about buying the building instead.
And since the store had been combined from two 4,000-square-foot storefronts to a single store, “we couldn’t’ find anybody who wanted 8,000 square feet of retail space over the last year or so,” Dankert said.
By the time the Patels approached Dankert about brokering a sale of the building, owner James Mabley was open to a deal. The purchase price was $600,000, according to city records.
Now the Patels are renovating the space, hoping to open in the new location by the end of May.
“Business is good,” Patel said, adding that he expects his customers to easily adapt to the new location.
However, the economy remains a factor for the small, independent store: “The profit margin is very low,” Patel said.
The new store will end up larger than the Patels originally planned, but they hope that adding more inventory will help them grow sales.
Dankert described the retail blocks of Packard east of Platt as a unique corridor of the city since it’s filled with independent stores that cater to a varied international market.
“It seems to be a strong area,” Dankert said. “People come from some distance to shop there.”
Paula Gardner is Business News Director of AnnArbor.com. Contact her at 734-623-2586 or by email. Sign up for the weekly Business Review newsletter, distributed every Thursday, here.
Comments
treetowncartel
Fri, Mar 26, 2010 : 3:48 p.m.
This is the beauty of the east side of Ann Arbor and ypsi area, so much more to offer in the way of different ethnic culinary cuisines than the west side.
Vanessa
Fri, Mar 26, 2010 : 12:50 p.m.
According to the server in the Achilles Diner a few weeks ago, the new site next door will be a Korean Supermarket -the owners presently have a store near Detroit Metro airport and are moving here to bigger premises.
Marge Biancke
Fri, Mar 26, 2010 : 7:11 a.m.
Looking forward to your expanded store. This is a great place to shop especially if you need some assistance with your Indian grocery list. The staff is very helpful.
treetowncartel
Thu, Mar 25, 2010 : 1:11 p.m.
@ Bellhelmet, Patel is the Indian equivalent of Smith.
Anonymous Due to Bigotry
Thu, Mar 25, 2010 : 11:13 a.m.
Non-Indian Americans should consider going there as well to buy spices. What will cost you $5+/oz at Kroger will cost you $2.50 for 1/4 lb at an Indian grocery! I have no idea why so many people are crazy enough to buy their spices at Kroger or whatever. (And I don't believe that stuff about "well I only need a little and the rest will go bad" because even if half of what you buy goes bad then you still come out way ahead. Spices last quite a long time anyway.)
cmayhew
Thu, Mar 25, 2010 : 10:50 a.m.
Great news! I look forward to going to the new store. Any idea what is being proposed for the shopping center being built on Packard between Maplewood and Elmwood?
Paula Gardner
Thu, Mar 25, 2010 : 10:09 a.m.
Here is the listing for that strip center on Platt. I suspect that Subway sign is outdated, but will check. Also, retail blogger Angie Smith is catching up on the new retail building across from Bombay near the Achilles Restaurant. http://www.loopnet.com/xNet/MainSite/Listing/Profile/Profile.aspx?LID=16549535&SRID=814127631&StepID=101&LinkCode=20280
A2Writer
Thu, Mar 25, 2010 : 9:44 a.m.
Yay - love them! Can't wait to see the new store.
treetowncartel
Thu, Mar 25, 2010 : 9:41 a.m.
Since we are on the subject of retail in this area. Does anybody have a clue what is up with that strip mall between Platt and Rosedale behind Rite aid? subway has been coming for about a year now and the rest of the store fronts are empty.
Renee
Thu, Mar 25, 2010 : 7:45 a.m.
I am excited to see what they offer with the expansion.