Pantagraph.com | Money | Boitnott closes west-side grocery store

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

6,000 A Month wrote on Aug 28, 2007 7:57 PM:

" That what Tom was paying Jack Snyder for that buidling. That is a lot of groceries to sell each month just make rent. When Tom first opened he had too many employees and did not put in the amount of hours an owner of a new business should. These are facts Tom relayed to me personally just before he closed. He also said that people in the neighborhood did not support him and that theft of meat and high dollars items were over the top. Good luck Tom you tried but hopefully you will thrive in your next endeavor. "

Taxpayer wrote on Aug 28, 2007 4:26 PM:

" Why is the county in the business of making loans to questionable retail projects? Looks like taxpayers are out $150,000. Heck, that would pay for a month of the Coliseum! And speaking of white elephants, does anyone think Great Escapes will renew their lease? I don't see how. Monster Pawn and the Dollar Store do more business. There's never more than 2-3 cars at GE. "

Enough wrote on Aug 28, 2007 2:06 PM:

" I live south of town and shopped at Tom's all the time, to help keep a store in that part of town as much as anything. Seems there were a lot of folks that did that. But still it failed. And now this has failed, perhaps because it's simply not the best area of town for a grocery story. The question should be, though, why does the City keep giving money away to certain private businessmen when, as is well known, the "market" ALWAYS decides which businesses will make it and which will fail? The people ALWAYS vote on their preferred choices with their wallets (as I used to when I shopped at Tom's). And when enough do so, the business succeeds. When enough don't, it fails. (Thus spake The Castle.) So when do we get to say to the city, "Enough is enough. Quite handing out our earnings for your feel-good projects!" "

Ummm wrote on Aug 28, 2007 1:17 PM:

" The people want good meat...woops! On second thought, they'll steal anything. "

Two store closings..... wrote on Aug 28, 2007 12:54 PM:

" Same owner/manager. Anybody else see where the real problem was?? "

T wrote on Aug 28, 2007 12:47 PM:

" I live a couple blocks from the old "Toms". In the beginning it was great. But then things I bought started being "expired" before I even got them home! The produce was awful. You really had to watch the expiration dates...especially on bread! You could grab a loaf on one shelf and the next shelf down it was 7 days later for expiration. I quit shopping there because they lacked on getting the inventory replaced quickly. I think it will take a large chain to move into the south side and make it work. For now, I'll stick with Krogers. Not about to give Walmart my money so they can support the Chinese! "

Retail questions wrote on Aug 28, 2007 11:03 AM:

" This failure points to two other issues not restricted to this store or location: 1- Why are we building so many new retail concepts and locations when so many existing retail plazas are losing tenants and customers? We are creating pockets of retail ghettos all over B-N. 2- There should be strict limits on how much public funds are extended to retailers, whether they be groceries, theaters, or any other high-risk retail venture. We want to encourage new business, but these loans have to be carefully scrutinized for their liability exposure. "

Too Bad wrote on Aug 28, 2007 10:45 AM:

" I agree with lindini. The store, overall lacked quality. I couldn't find everything I needed and most items, especially those on sale, were expired or very near (like the next day). I found ham lunchmeat that was brown. Some prices were higher than other stores' sales on name brand products. When all was said and done I didn't see any real savings. I still had to go to other stores to find what I needed, which were common items. My first visit was my last. What was nice is that they accepted all credit cards, not just debit like Aldi's. "

Lady wrote on Aug 28, 2007 10:40 AM:

" Why knock a man when he is down!!!!!!!!!!! "

JTE wrote on Aug 28, 2007 9:56 AM:

" Mor-For-Less wasn't Tom's. And that's the problem. When Boitnott manage Tom's, it was an excellent store- great SERVICE, clean, good food at good prices, and a wide selection. Mor-For-Less seemed to be copping the Aldi's model without their fresh produce nor the prices. And it was never as clean as Tom's was. Of course, Tom's was putrid after Mr. Boitnott left- filthy, even worse than the Wal-Mart in Normal, lousy selection, and an utter lack of service- like Wal-Mart only at even higher prices. "

lindini wrote on Aug 28, 2007 9:40 AM:

" Sorry but this store was awful. I went there once to support his business but found only ALDI products marked up well above what they were worth. I looked everywhere to find something to buy to be nice, bought some graham crackers only to discover they were well past the expiration date when I got home. This store was just a complete disappointment... "

Tom... wrote on Aug 28, 2007 9:34 AM:

" ...ran a tight ship. I worked for him at Parkway foods. He had to have everything perfect. I just think that people don't know quality when they see it. This man did a great job managing parkway. He wanted every customer to have a great experience. The prices there were a little on the high side, but that wasn't his fault. People said they wanted a grocery store on that side of town, but when it came down to it, people would just come and pick up the few things that were on super sale instead of supporting the whole store. I don't think it was Tom's fault, he just brought a store to a side of town were people didn't appreciate it (west side, go figure) The only thing those people appreciate is their link cards being reloaded!Good Luck Tom! "

I agree w/ "Just A Guy" wrote on Aug 28, 2007 9:31 AM:

" The East Side is booming! The Kroger on Oakland is not open 24 hrs and I think Jewel is too expensive. The East Side could TOTALLY use something closer to Downs & Metro-Blm. "

Mike wrote on Aug 28, 2007 8:48 AM:

" You can still support small local business. There are plenty of us who work just as harder than Tom, we just don't choose to promote ourselves that way. We let our products and customers speak for us. A good business person is one who has been around for 20-30 years. Not one who sticks the bankers and county with bad loans. "

re: Never's post wrote on Aug 28, 2007 8:39 AM:

" Walmart has poured much money into terrorist nations. "

Best wishes~~ wrote on Aug 28, 2007 8:18 AM:

" To ya Tom. "

The Castle wrote on Aug 28, 2007 8:16 AM:

" When the Castle theatre closed, people were up in arms for the community to get our money back. Why not now? "

Friend wrote on Aug 28, 2007 7:44 AM:

" People need to get their facts straight. Tom did not sell Parkway Foods, he was terminated. If he was mean to you, you probably were not doing your job. And, if you had shopped there, the inventory was sold over the last couple of weeks at discount. Best of Luck to Tom and his son. "

to: just a guy 2 wrote on Aug 28, 2007 7:36 AM:

" Part of this problem is that the cities, big or small and the county do not help the small business. the local government will build a fire station in the middle of the county trying to run out the rural fire depts., but will not help better there business in town. They would get more tax money in the long run. "

to:Just A Guy 1 wrote on Aug 28, 2007 7:36 AM:

" You have to know that the partners that were with Tom at parkway were the problems there. People like Larry HUNDMAN and his friends. Tom managed Cubs for years and things there went well. Tom is a great and friendly type person. My wife worked for him and said he was good to work for. People in this town jus get stuck on going to the big name places because they like to say they shop at this store or that. Just like having to shop at the malls because they buy fashion brand name jean when some pair from F&F or TSC would be just as good and last longer. People around here just do not support the small business because they can not afford to do millions of dollars in advertising. "

To: Can't Compete wrote on Aug 28, 2007 6:56 AM:

" I don't know what you mean by "mean", but self-employed people can't afford to be generous. This is a business and they have to be assertive and hold their own. "

shopper wrote on Aug 28, 2007 6:46 AM:

" Bad location. I am a mother of three and the family grocery shopper. I would not take my young childrern and myself to this store because of where it is located. "

Dave wrote on Aug 28, 2007 6:31 AM:

" I was told that Tom indicated he was tired of losing stock. He said theft was terrible at that location. He couldnt stop it no matter what he tried. I can believe that, I live about 4 blocks away. It has been getting bad for quite awhile. "

to to where did it all go wrote on Aug 28, 2007 5:23 AM:

" thanks for a forthright answer...I wasn't trying to be a smart ass, just wanted to know what happened to an obviously perishable inventory, thanks for a candid answer "

I would like to see~~ wrote on Aug 28, 2007 4:10 AM:

" a Mejiers store open up over here on the West or South or East side. I love the store, but to far for me to waste gas on. As for Walmart and it's meat, oh boy is he right about that!! That has to be the worst meat I've ever eaten. I may get other things there but never meat. Their meat is cut somewhere else, frozen and shipped. I've worked for a Walmart before so I know. Mejiers has good meat and so does Kroger's on Oakland so I get my meat from either place. So give us another Mejiers so we can shop and not drive the distance. "

I don't understand why wrote on Aug 28, 2007 2:42 AM:

" people like Wal Mart so much. I live in OK now and Wal Mart is almost the MOST expensive store to shop in for groceries and their meat is not good, it is way over-priced; PLUS they are replacing good name brand items with awful generic items. Everything in the store is 'made in China'. I shop at the IGA and get FRESH-cut meat at lower prices. The Wal Marts where I live are losing business really fast and the one in the town I live in is in BIG financial trouble right now. Many people here are boycotting the Wal Mart stores. "

otis wrote on Aug 28, 2007 2:08 AM:

" took alot of guts tring to make it at that location but its sounds like tom had little or none of his own capital tied up in the store "

Poor Tom wrote on Aug 27, 2007 11:25 PM:

" He was there most of the time. "

thats wrote on Aug 27, 2007 11:06 PM:

" really sad. Tom was a hard worker & tried hard. I wonder about the location tho, plus consumers just arent what they used to be. besides, there are other business' not making any bucks either, but arent just starting up. Everybody is just hanging on by their fingertips........government is just draining everybody dry. tax,tax,tax,spend,spend,spend "

Never wrote on Aug 27, 2007 11:06 PM:

" Shopped there. Wasn't in a good location for me. As for Tom's "good prices" please. It was cheaper for me to drive to Cub then to shop there. To all the Walmart haters. Look how much money Walmart has put into the economy in the last 15 years. "

to can't compete wrote on Aug 27, 2007 10:22 PM:

" Tom has never been mean to me. "

To: where did all the inventory go? wrote on Aug 27, 2007 9:57 PM:

" The usual practice is for the suppliers to pack it up to cut their losses. "

Candy wrote on Aug 27, 2007 9:34 PM:

" Another win for Wal-Mart. "

TO: just a guy wrote on Aug 27, 2007 9:22 PM:

" According to a rumor around town that just won't go away, look for you to get your SUPER Wish at the corner of T-Barnes and Ireland Grove Roads within 2-3 years. They haven't been working on a new sewer system out there in that area for the last year just for the new residential subdivision to the east. "

This is what it has come to... wrote on Aug 27, 2007 9:08 PM:

" Everyone likes to lambast the big chains; we all want the nostalgic ma-and-pa corner store, but when we get an independent business, we complain that the prices are too high, the location is inconvenient, and the selection is poor. This is a new age, and just this weekend Barron's reported that Wal-Mart now wants to start buying smaller grocery and merchandise stores to compete in smaller communities and invigorate growth. We may say we want independent retailers, but we sure don't show it with our $$$. Just look at the online commentary about what new restaurants we want and stores we'd like to see in downtown Bloomington. We must now sleep in the bed we've made for ourselves. "

Too Bad wrote on Aug 27, 2007 9:07 PM:

" Loved Tom's at Parkway. It was convenient, prices were good, the service was great, and produce good. I couldn't figure out why most of my neighbors would drive right by it to shop at Kroger/Jewel/Cub/Schnucks at higher prices, lower quality, and worse service. I guess it's hard to change store loyalty. Hope Tom lands on his feet. "

Maybe wrote on Aug 27, 2007 8:39 PM:

" it is time for Mr. Boitnott to try a different job. I was in the stire one time liked it but it is way out of my way so I just never made it back there. I feel for this man but time to move on. "

wow wrote on Aug 27, 2007 8:09 PM:

" that was fast...where did all the inventory go? "

FYI wrote on Aug 27, 2007 7:46 PM:

" I wish the county/banks/sba would 'loan' me even half of that amount. My business makes money at least, though I could multiply my volume with enough advertizing money. I could make those payments at 3%. I could see the county loaning money to a viable business(or to help a small town area), but he just doesn't know how to run a business that turns a profit. The IGA store there went under(due to poor management), but had good customer flow. That was before Walmart opened. If Walmart ever learns how to provide good meat, then they will drive out the other big stores as well. "

Just A Guy wrote on Aug 27, 2007 7:09 PM:

" People probably wouldn't go to the store due to the location it was in, being in West Bloomington on Market St. Since this is the second business failure Mr. Boitnott has been involved in (remember, Tom's was losing money when Mr. Boitnott sold it), it could be partially him as well. Meanwhile, a good place for a grocery store would be down near the Sale Barn area, or somewhere near the Towanda-Barnes Road area. If you look at the distance to travel from Palace Cinemas to the nearest stores and the minimum would be about seven minutes (Oakland Ave. Kroger and Jewel). The next closest would be about 10 minutes (Cub, Schnucks, maybe Meijer). This location would also benefit some eastern communities as well like Downs, LeRoy, Arrowsmith and Ellsworth. "

to cant compete wrote on Aug 27, 2007 6:02 PM:

" A salesperson, fast food, whatever someone does, doesnt mean someone needs to be mean to that person. I also worked for Tom at Cub Foods about 10 years ago, that doesnt give him the right to be mean to you because of what you do. I am sorry you think like that. "

can't compete wrote on Aug 27, 2007 5:16 PM:

" With the Walmart? It's too bad it didn't work out, but that Tom guy, I don't know. He was mean to me when I was a salesperson, but I'm a salesperson. I'd have been mean to me too. Things are rough for small business owners. "

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