Free Water at Schnucks

During the hottest parts of the day, Schnucks is offering free water. Limit one bottle per person. During the week, the civic center is also open, though I do not think the city is promoting it as a cooling center. Water fountains are available there as well.

Schnuck's To Stop Selling Cigarettes

Schnuck's announced today that the chain, including the store here in Carbondale, will stop selling all tobacco products next year. The company says it will take a hit in profits but sees the move as complementary to its growing focus on wellness. 

New Kroger Hours

Looks as if the 24 hour thing for Kroger hasn't worked out as the store will start closing at 1 a.m. on April 1. Doubt if Wal-mart will follow suit but Schnucks might.

Schnucks for Rent?

Noticed a "For Rent" sign out along Hwy 13 in front of Schnucks last night.  As far as I know, Schnucks is not closing and the other two spaces in the building, Great Clips and Check into Cash, are still there, so makes me wonder what space is for rent?

Wine and Beer Sales

Short interviews with Francis Murphy of the Neighborhood Co-op and Darla Lubelt of Kroger on the effects of allowing grocery stores to sell beer and wine.  It's interesting to compare Kroger and Schunucks beer an wine areas as Kroger has not jumped into the area with the same enthusiasm as Schnucks did.  Within days after getting the license, Schnucks had cleared out the are that used to be their video department and stocked it. Then a month or so after that, cleared out 2 full grocery aisles and converted them to beer and wine, along with reseting most of the counters throughout the rest of the store.

Meanwhile, Kroger still only has the half of one aisle that it devoted to beer and wine, with no refrigeration set up for beer yet.

Schnuck's Remodel

Schnuck's is remodeling the inside of the store today.  So far, they have pushed the counters about 4 feet towards the back of the store, giving more space between the front end of the counter and the cash register.  There is a crew of about 2 dozen+ staffers out there this morning relaying out products on the shovels.  Looks like the same Lozier shelves still used though.

More Beer

At least one of the retailers that received a liquor license at last week's city council meeting has already stocked in beer and wine.  Schuncks has converted the area at the front of the store that used to house their video rental area to beer and wine.  The Neighborhood Food Co-op expects to stock local beer and wine within six to eight weeks.

Arnold's Market is the business I expect to come out the big winner in this.  Consider:  all of the other recent recipients of a liquor license are located very close to Highway 13. Westroads and Schnucks will compete for most of the mass market beer and wine sales on the west side (Neighborhood Food Co-op, I expect, will not stock lines such as Keystone, Bud Lite and Coors, stocking local wines and beers, more in accord with its image but not drawing big crowds).  Meanwhile, Wal-Mart and Kroger will fight for the market share currently dominated by ABC, One Stop, Blue Fish  (assuming they mange to deal with the ownership difficulties) etc.

There is no place to buy liquor in Carbondale south of Wall Street and we have seen a significant growth in housing, especially student, in the Pleasant Hill Road area.  Liquor purchases tend towards the impulsive, i.e. "Let's stop and get a 24 pack on the way home" or "Hey, time for a beer run."  Since convenience plays a big factor in the decision and assuming Arnold's does not follow the Co-op's plan of stocking locally sourced beer but carries widely popular, the store should see a huge influx in sale as students (and others) stop there on the way home or head there when they discover they are low, as opposed to making the trek to the next closest location, Pinch Penny Liquors on E. Wall.