Tomboy Market, the go-to grocer of Lower Midtown for over 50 years, is now up for sale. The rather ambitious asking price of $650K indicates that, after updating its logo earlier this year, Tomboy thinks of itself as maybe the next Papa Joe's. Based on an unbelievable 2009 article on Tomboy by Metro Times, we're going to say that a prospective buyer should be able to negotiate that price down significantly, for two reasons: 1) Owner Jitu Patel (who records indicate is still the owner today) implies that running Tomboy is a pretty miserable gig, and he'd much rather own a store in a more prosperous part of town, and 2) The article paints Tomboy as a hellhole of thievery, drug dealing, and prostitution.
The sale's inclusion of the store's inventory (which the article says involves quite a bit of Ramen and beer) means that any new owner would hit the ground running, both figuratively and apparently somewhat literally. Here's a tidbit from the Metro Times piece:
Some people just grab food and run out the door. Jitu sometimes gives chase, but if thieves are determined enough, they're impossible to catch. "I know some, they can run three, four miles," he says. Many are crackheads and their energy level is unmatched, Jitu notes.Tomboy is apparently the last of a former chain of Tomboy grocers spanning Detroit, and this particular branch has been around since 1950. Are things really that terrible at the market? Tell us your experiences in the comments.
· 4128 2nd [Weichert Realtors]
· Bum rap [MetroTimes}
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