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The bedrock of a dream manifested into a tangible small-business, a place to go for dinner and dessert on a Friday or the perfect breeding ground for middle school shenanigans; the Village is something uniquely special to every Grosse Pointer. Through generations of history, the downtown marketplace has held an identity firm, despite the frequent passings of various establishments.
This ebb and flow has become commonplace over the years, and while minor changes often provoke the brief lament or rejoicing of the casual passerby, rarely do they elicit a substantial stir in the community. Recent significant changes, including the projected closing of Moosejaw, a village staple since 1995, have drawn the attention of many, prompting varied reactions from community members to employees like Nicole Cadieux.
“I think it’s a shame,” Cadieux said. “Because of how special Moosejaw is, and the friendship, even across all these stores, all these people get together, and even (in) our emails to each other, we have a good time.”
Cadieux, although only hired a few months ago, already feels welcomed by the Moosejaw community.
“There’s a lot of laughter, a lot of sending gifts, (a lot of) jokes,” Cadieux said. “I’ve never worked anywhere like this.”
After Dick’s Sporting Goods purchased Moosejaw from Walmart in Sept. 2023, the company decided to consolidate all of its franchises except for three. And this, by proxy, left workers at the Grosse Pointe location, as well as many others, in a state of shock at the suddenness of the action.
“It was shocking,” Cadieux said. “We were all kind of blindsided.”
Given the quickly evolving trends and unpredictability of corporate activity, few stores in the village have what it takes to stay as long as Moosejaw has. Bill Lemanske, who owns the Notre Dame Pharmacy, has somehow avoided such threats to his business and his store has remained open since 1966.
“(It’s a) personal family business,” Lemanske said. “We know our customers. You ever walk into (CVS) and you don’t know who the pharmacist is? You walk in here and you know who your pharmacist is, you know Bill, you know Rob, we’re your local guys.”
It is this personal manner of conducting business that Lemanske says has kept the pharmacy open as long as it has been. In his 46 year tenure at the pharmacy, Lemanske has seen countless businesses come and go as the nature of the Village has evolved.
“The village used to be heavy retail,” Lemanske said. “Dress stores, shoe stores, drug stores– now it’s more restaurants and things along those lines.”
Although in recent years the village has seen the loss of several major retail stores such as Gymboree and Jos. A. Banks, a new LuluLemon store offers clothes that appeal to students like Aidan Bugeja ’24.
“There weren’t any stores for men’s shopping before, but now I’m starting to see a little bit more,” Bugeja said. “Even with the Lululemon store, there’s just more options for boys’ clothing.”
Still, unlike other closures before, the loss of Moosejaw is tough to swallow for many Grosse Pointers, including Bugeja.
“I (will) miss Moosejaw because it was unique,” Bugeja said. “It’s one of those stores that can (seemingly) stay open no matter what; it’s very useful.”
