Last month, an article by Brigid Sweeney for Crain’s Chicago Business titled “For Meijer, bigger is better,” caught my attention. Not far from my family’s new home, they are closing in on the final stages of completing a Meijer store; so needless to say, my curiosity was more than piqued.

In March, the big-box retailer issued a release about how it is investing $400 million in new and remodeled stores this year. In 2016, the company will open nine new supercenters across the Midwest and will remodel stores in key markets, including Detroit, Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, Ind., it said in the release. However, Sweeney’s article detailed that Meijer also will be closing one of its mini-supercenters in a Chicago suburb. She also noted the mixed results from other retailers — Target, Wal-Mart, Dollar General, etc. — on opening these smaller locations in urban areas.