The Collegian

Issue date: 9/10/09 Section: Down the Hill

Media Credit: Shannon Odell Broadstreet Downtown Market boasts outdoor seating where customers can enjoy an assortment of goods from the store's new deli or coffee bar.

Media Credit: Shannon Odell

Media Credit: Shannon Odell

Four months ago if you said you were going to Broad Street, it meant you were stepping into a fluorescent-lit, glorified convenience store, and you were probably just there to buy liquor, cigarettes or canned soup. The fact that a homeless man was found dead in the store's basement didn't deter you from going there; after all, it was a lot closer than Kroger.

Over the summer, all of that changed. Well, maybe not everything - you can still get liquor and cigarettes at the newly renovated (and renamed) Broad Street Downtown Market. But the store now features a small deli, popular burritos and quiches, a variety of fine cheeses, a small selection of fresh pastries and a completely redesigned, modern interior, as well as a beer cave.

"Everybody's happy about it," said Megan Stuchell, the store manager, who hopes to have Wi-Fi functioning within a month.

Stuchell said the high-end items are selling well. She credits some of their popularity to students' business -- since school has started, she has made her biggest order yet of specialty cheese, Margaritaville chips, and garden-fresh salsa.

Stuchell will happily order kegs and said that if she receives an order by Wednesday, she can fill it by Friday. To order one, customers can call the store at 517-439-1921. It always has a few on hand ready to be reserved.

She also believes that the store is the only place in Hillsdale which sells seasoned tri-tips, a cut of meat popular for tailgating parties.

The store also has a coffee area, featuring a comfortable couch, several tables and bar-style seating along the windows with convenient outlets for laptops. With the store's late hours - open until 10 p.m. on Sunday, midnight on weekdays and 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday - this should be an ideal study area.

Over the summer, Broad Street Downtown Market sponsored several community events, including a few concerts and a karaoke contest. The store will throw a Back-to-School Bash Sept. 18 featuring live music, grilling, dinner for $5, and carriage rides for around $2.

The renovations have pleased students.
"You pretty much could get everything there," Andrew Harrison, a junior who lives downtown, said.

"We were kind of shocked at how much they had done with the place and how nice it was," he continued, noting that he enjoyed the spinach and feta quiche.

Fellow downtown resident Kari Snyder, a senior, said she's delighted with the renovation.

"It's affected all our lives," she said. "I literally go there every day, sometimes twice a day. They have other things besides alcohol and cigs, which is all the old Broad Street was for. They're always there for me."
Not everyone is thrilled, though.

Elizabeth Henderson, a senior, said she misses the old employees, who she knew better. She also pointed out that since renovation, Broad Street no longer sells the cheapest champagne in town.

Still, she appreciates some of the store's changes.

"It's aesthetically beautiful," she noted.

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