Two big, empty spaces in Traverse City have found new tenants.

First up: In the Traverse Square space formerly occupied by Circuit City – the seasonal home of the Halloween Superstore – international supermarket chain ALDI is setting up shop.

ALDI has operations all over Europe – in Britain, Germany, Denmark, France, Poland, the Iberian Peninsula, Slovenia and more. The United States arm boasts more than 1,000 stores in 31 states, and one of its divisions, ALDI Nord, is parent company to the Trader Joe’s chain.

Don’t put blueberry vanilla chèvre on your shopping list just yet; despite their relation, ALDI isn’t a derivative of Trader Joe’s.

“I relate Trader Joe’s to parties, fancy gatherings. It’s a specialty store,” says David Kapusansky, director of real estate for ALDI’s Michigan division. “ALDI is an everyday grocery. We carry the staples, things you need to feed your family every day.”

Like Trader Joe’s, however, ALDI’s discount concept is based on a no-frills approach: Stores carry about 1,400 of the most frequently purchased grocery and household items, nearly all of which are ALDI select brands – none of which are made in-store (i.e. no bakery or deli). Products are often stacked in pallets; shoppers bring or buy their own shopping bags; and carts cost a quarter to rent (the $.25 is refunded when the cart is returned from lot to store).

Not all ALDI stores carry beer and wine, but Kapusansky says he will be making the applications for the TC-based ALDI to sell a limited selection. “Nearly every ALDI in Michigan does,” he says. “I suspect this one will too.”

Garfield Township’s planning commission last week approved the store’s application. Underway now: plans to add landscaping and remodel the interior and exterior façade – the latter of which will showcase the chain’s standard feature, a tall parapet above the entrance, says project engineer Chris Grzenkowicz of Desine Inc., based in Brighton, Mich.

The store is slated to open this coming January; Kapusansky says the project has been moving forward so efficiently that ALDI TC might open before then.

Eyes On Downtown TC
At the west end of downtown Traverse City, a prime chunk of real estate is being redeveloped as an optometry center. Longtime local optometrists Dr. David Cannon, Dr. Elizabeth Nichols and Dr. Julie Runstrom will be opening Traverse Vision inside 336 W. Front Street.

The 5,000-square-foot stand-alone building was previously home to By Candlelight Amish Furnishings.

Co-owner Roy Nichols, who also owns local aircraft management and charter company Air Services Inc., tells The Ticker that the prime location was no accident.

“It’s a good location with great exposure, and it’s convenient to our customers,” he says, noting the team of doctors, also co-owners of the practice, have worked in the area more than 20 years.

Nichols says construction crews are reconfiguring the interior to accommodate a series of exam rooms and optometric equipment, and the practice is on track for a mid-May opening.