With a grocery store proposed as part of a mixed-use development at 46th and Hiawatha (see the Planning Commission submittal to the Committee of the Whole last week for plans), it is time to review good urban standards for grocery store design. Grocery stores are complicated due to issues of customer access, parking, and truck delivery, and walkability and good urban design is sometimes sacrificed. Let’s look at some considerations for the 46th Street store. We’ll begin with the Lunds & Byerlys on University Avenue in northeast Minneapolis. This store is in many ways the gold standard for urban grocery stores…

Earlier on 2016 the Seward Co-op opened its Friendship Store at 38th Street and Clinton Avenue in south Minneapolis. While this new grocery store has received good reviews, and deservedly so, I must chime in to point out a few quibbles I have with its urban design (well, someone has to). Hopefully we can learn from these mistakes, and perhaps there are ways to address these issues in a proactive manner. First off, the doors. Two doors are available for customers. One (shown above) faces west towards the parking lot, has easy-to-access sliding doors typical of grocers, and for all…