Meijer plans grocery store at former Big Lots in Clinton Township

Meijer is moving into the former Big Lots box in Clinton Township, and the deal shows how fast a vacant discount store can be recast as a daily-traffic grocery anchor. The planned 76,000-square-foot Meijer Fresh store at Gratiot Avenue and 15 Mile Road will replace the closed Big Lots at 35603 South Gratiot Avenue, a sign that the most valuable retail space now goes to formats built around repeat visits, food sales and service jobs.

The project is set for the Regional Shopping Center in Macomb County, where township officials say the former Big Lots will be razed for the redevelopment. The new store is expected to include a deli, bakery, pharmacy and gas station, features that push customer visits well beyond the once-a-week stock-up trip and give Meijer a stronger foothold in the corridor. Local reporting says the opening is expected in spring 2028.

Breakpoint Investments, based in West Bloomfield, acquired the property. Clinton Township officials said that purchase is the first major milestone in a broader effort to bring new commercial activity, investment and economic opportunity to the Gratiot Corridor. Supervisor Paul Gieleghem called the deal an “important moment” for the area and said the completion of the sale moves the project “from planning to action.” For workers, that matters because a grocery anchor typically carries steadier staffing needs than a dead big-box vacancy, with labor spread across front-end service, fresh departments, pharmacy and fuel.

The Clinton Township move lands against the backdrop of Big Lots’ own retrenchment. The chain’s real estate footprint has been in flux as Gordon Brothers Retail Partners sold or marketed leases after the company’s downturn, while Variety Wholesalers reopened five Big Lots stores in Michigan in 2025. None of those reopenings came to the Clinton Township site, which remained listed as closed in the former Regional Shopping Center space.

That contrast is the playbook lesson for Big Lots employees and managers watching the market: traffic now follows tenants that can offer food, pharmacy runs and neighborhood convenience, not just low-price general merchandise. Meijer is betting that a grocery-only format can anchor the corridor and pull in surrounding spending, while the old Big Lots box becomes the cautionary example of what happens when a retail site loses its daily relevance.