New Menard's Building - Red Owl Store

Yes, that is very interesting!

Unfortunately, I don't have any information for you but I can assure you, the forum will be the first to know if I get any news.

-Mark the Menards Train Guy

Proubly just like IGA store. But I could be wrong.

Yes, welcome back Art. How goes the progress on the layout? Can we see pictures yet?

When I was a kid, Red Owl Grocery Stores, were popular in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. This photo is from their Cedarville, Michigan store.  This building is still standing but it is now called Cedarville Foods and they are in a new building. 

The Upper Peninsula of Michigan, has strong shipping ties to Wisconsin and Minnesota,  they are closer to Green Bay than the Metro Detroit Area.  Parts of the U.P. are also on the Central Time Zone.  I do a lot of hunting and fishing in this area, called the Les Cheneaux, Island Area.

Hi Art, Welcome back............

Gary

 To Trainroomgary

Gary

i couldn't be leave it when i saw it.  I spent my summers with my grandparents in the late sixty's and early seventy's

on St. Martins Point in the UP and i have been to that Red Owl in Cederville a thousand times.  What great memory's,

ill definitely be ordering one.  thanks for sharing 

 Bill

Our RED Owl store is maybe bobbing out in the ocean or at the harbor waiting to get unloaded due to the shipping company  going bankrupt ??

Never heard of *Red Owl", and hope it is a different building than the IGA. I hope to see some more trackside industries.

I posted this earlier, but for you Red Owl fans, Department 56 produced this ceramic building in 2002 (retired 2003). Here's mine, surrounded by O scale figures of a wide variety. (Hey, everybody needs groceries.)

colorado hirailer posted:

Never heard of *Red Owl", and hope it is a different building than the IGA. I hope to see some more trackside industries.

Cross posting my reply from an earlier thread:

Red Owl was once a grocery store chain that operated in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and North and South Dakota. The company dates back to 1922. The first store was in Rochester, MN. Its last owner, Supervalu Inc., began phasing them out in the 1980s. One still exists in Green Bay, WI. There were more than 400 stores at one time.

I lived in Rochester for eight years and in Minnesota for 22 years, so I am quite familiar with them.

Department 56 in 2002 released a ceramic building depicting a Red Owl. (See my previous post above for picture.)

I grew up with Red Owl in the Twin Cities. I might just have to get one, even though I don't have a place for it on the layout.

what does buying train stuff have to do with needing train stuff hah (:

Thanks for the nice comments.  I am trying to get back into trains after a long absence.  The best explanation is that I got a little "burnt out" and had to give it a break.  The Red Owl store is the kind of thing that creates a lot of interest for me and brings me back.  I have been trying for a number of years to get a Spencer Packing Co. reefer made and that would get me back big time.  MTH said that they were 100% sure they were going to make my reefer at TrainFest last year in Milwaukee.  It hasn't happened yet, but I am hoping for the fall MTH catalog, but not holding my breath either.  (As a Cubs fan I have learned to temper my enthusiasm.)  I have emailed MTH and so far have been ignored with no reply at all.  That does not increase my confidence, but will will soon see when the new catalog is unveiled at York.

Art

Hey Menard's!  How about a Gunsmith shop, small town type.  :-)

Red Owl plant. Hopkins, Minnesota. Under construction, 1947.

Opened in 1948.

The firm was purchased by Gamble-Skogmo in 1968, then later by Supervalu in 1988.  Supervalu later incorporated this building into its greatly expanded distribution operations.

Today

Chugman posted:

... As a Cubs fan I have learned to temper my enthusiasm.

Art

Art;

Glad to see you are well and back, however, I am afraid that, being a Cubs Fan, you might be a bit preoccupied for the next couple of weeks, or, at least, I sincerely hope so!!! As a legally qualified long suffering Met fan (as a kid, my parents took my brother and I to some of the games they played at the Polo Grounds), I appreciate tempered enthusiasm.

P.S. I root for the Mets first, Cubs second, and whichever National League team is in the Series third.

One of the more unique Red Owl Grocery store locations could be found at the then new Southdale Shopping Center. Opening in 1956, it is the first fully enclosed climate controlled mall in the world. 

Southdale developers envisioned a retail mix of businesses at the mall with the addition of a grocery store. That surprised some who wondered whether shoppers really would buy a cart full of groceries when they come to a mall for things like boots, down comforters or a new pair of eyeglasses.

Southdale opened with a 30,000-square-foot Red Owl, which was then the largest grocery in the Upper Midwest. By 1950s standards, this store was huge. Keep in mind that this was 1956, years before giant warehouse-style grocers.

Note the Red Owl sign perched over the receiving tunnel that served the entire mall. The store itself is located just North of the tunnel and stretched into the main structure on the first level. 

A closer look...

To get a sense of the then new concept, here are views of the unfinished court...

And another when newly finished...

This is Red Owl's inside entrance, doors just out of view to the left. The street entrance is visible just beyond the mall doors.

Lets go shopping...

A rather ambitious boxed cereal display even by todays standard...

A time when light bulbs could be individually selected like tender fruit...

In living color...

Now to the car...

Mrs. Shopper, just as Southdale architect Victor Gruen envisioned in the 1950s, could spend a cold January morning in the indoor comfort of a shopping center that duplicated the services of  traditional downtown shopping.

Red Owl moved out of the mall in 1973, just across the street on York Avenue. The stand alone grocery store would later be torn down and replaced by Cub Foods.

While at the local Menards I looked at the buildings they had out. There was a mention in a recent post that the buildings were made from cardstock. I checked. They are. Interesting. Not sure I want one now.

DICK

CBQer posted:

While at the local Menards I looked at the buildings they had out. There was a mention in a recent post that the buildings were made from cardstock. I checked. They are. Interesting. Not sure I want one now.

DICK

Hi Dick: Do you recall, which structures is from cardstock?

Below is the description for the Locomotive Maintenance Shed, no cardstock.  Wood & resin plastic. 

• O gauge scale
• Includes 30 full size signs to decorate your building, the signs are interchangable!
• Pre-built and ready to go
• Includes LED yard lights at both ends of the building
• Six LED lights on the interior ceiling
• Wood and resin construction with hand painted details
• Includes added details such as: two workers, two realistic looking trees, three shrubs, four working doors, and Jack the German Shepherd
• Uses 4.5V A/C adapter 289-4002 (sold separately)

Dimensions: 11"W x 21.5"L x 6.5"H 

Gary

John, Southdale is still a great mall but it looks a bit different now. An oh how I miss Daytons, Macys just isnd't the same, acutally its not even close.

banjoflyer posted:

CBQer posted:

While at the local Menards I looked at the buildings they had out. There was a mention in a recent post that the buildings were made from cardstock. I checked. They are. Interesting. Not sure I want one now.

DICK

The O gauge Power and Light building is cardstock. Most if not all others are not. Some are resin castings others are laser cut thin wood. Some accessory parts may be cardstock on some buildings. To my knowledge the Red Owl has not been released or displayed anywhere yet.

Mark

Interesting, Mark, that your P&L Bldg. is cardstock while mine is most definitely wood, quite thin as wood goes, but nonetheless it's wood. Perhaps whether thin wood or thick cardstock was used is dependent on when it was manufactured, either the first run manufacture generation or the price increased latest manufacturing run? Which run is your P&L Bldg. from, Mark?

They, both runs, seem to be thin wood on mine. I am well pleased with them.

Art,

I missed your smiling face and commentary!  Being from Western Pennsylvania, I never saw Red Owl, but I too am looking forward to seeing the Menard's building!  Thank you for posting!

Menards posted:

banjoflyer posted:

CBQer posted:

While at the local Menards I looked at the buildings they had out. There was a mention in a recent post that the buildings were made from cardstock. I checked. They are. Interesting. Not sure I want one now.

DICK

The O gauge Power and Light building is cardstock. Most if not all others are not. Some are resin castings others are laser cut thin wood. Some accessory parts may be cardstock on some buildings. To my knowledge the Red Owl has not been released or displayed anywhere yet.

Mark

By my measurement, walls are 1/8" thick. While I have not personally seen "cardstock" that thick before, everyone is welcome to their opinion. The construction of the American Power & Light building has been the same for each production run and I guarantee you, it is a very sturdy structure.

-Mark the Menards Train Guy

I had assumed the material used on some of the buildings is MDF (medium-density fiberboard). It's considered a wood product. 

I should have mentioned here in Western Pennsylvania we don't have the Red Owl, but we do have the Giant Eagle (pronounced 'Jiunt Iggle'). Of course we have to pronounce everything different.

Matt Makens posted:

John, Southdale is still a great mall but it looks a bit different now. An oh how I miss Daytons, Macys just isnd't the same, acutally its not even close.

"Looks a bit different" would be an understatement. The only constant in the aerials is the water tower.

Now, with seven major additions and multi-level parking structures. Note that the surrounding boulevards have been reduced...

A few changes inside as well. The constant here are the two floor to ceiling bronze sculptures.        Circa 1956...

Circa 1990s...

Circa 2010s...

Nov. 28, 1956: Frank Lloyd Wright at Southdale...

By FRANK MURRAY
Minneapolis Star Staff Writer

“Who wants to sit in that desolate-looking spot?” Wright said of Southdale, the world’s first enclosed shopping mall. “You’ve got a garden court that has all the evils of the village street and none of its charm.” It’s not clear which evils the stormy petrel of American architecture was referring to. But thanks to a towering cage that kept the mall’s colorful songbirds in check, at least Southdale shoppers didn’t have to worry about white gunk falling on their heads. (Minneapolis Tribune photo by Paul Siegel)

Matt Makens posted:

John, Southdale is still a great mall but it looks a bit different now. An oh how I miss Daytons, Macys just isnd't the same, acutally its not even close.

And yes, Macys blows.

I stopped in a neighborhood Menards again this afternoon and no Red Owl yet.  I am hopeful that this store will capture the charm of so many of these small town grocery stores.  It should be a great competitor for Woodland Scenics IGA store.  Let the bread and milk wars begin.  LOL  and there still will be room for a Council Oaks store and a Super Valu.

Art

Manny possibilities...

Fate of the store above...

Jon - The second picture reminds me a lot of the Emmetsburg, IA store.  After seeing it, I even remember where the bread rack was.  Great memories.

Art

I have the ho AP&L and it is very sturdy and looks great, I mean who does not like 20 lights and a animated sign. 

The wood is MDF 

Dave

Hi Everyone!

I see there is an increasing amount of interest revolving around our new O gauge Red Owl Store! I am happy to announce that the speculation is true! We are expecting to release this brand-new building within the next 2 to 4 weeks!

Until then, I will keep you posted about the whereabouts of this new building and give you updates as the container travels closer to its destination.

I can't tell you any details about the exterior of the new Red Owl Store but I will say that it has a fully lit and decorated interior! Just check out the details in the photos below. As you can see, we worked really hard on this!

Stay tuned for more updates!

Thank you,
Mark the Menards Train Guy

its gonna be a long two weeks 

Bill_R posted:

its gonna be a long two weeks 

He said two to four weeks. That will drag even longer. 

Hey Mark, how about the red owl in Ho, I'm in for one.

Dave

david1 posted:

Hey Mark, how about the red owl in Ho, I'm in for one.

Dave

 

 

Walthers did one in its HO Cornerstone series already. Plenty available on eBay right now.

After assessing Mark's usual teaser pics, I don't expect the Menards Red Owl model to look anything like this one...

President James Watson and James E. Gottlieb, construction director. Red Owl Stores, Inc.

Personally, i'd rather have seen an A&P or a Grand Union.