PORTLAND, Ore. – Lamb’s Thriftway here is giving a successful barbecue grill program its due, making it the focal point of one of its largest stores.
In fact, an extensive remodel, underway right now, looks to position the expansive barbecue grill upfront, right inside the front door. Owner Bob Lamb places big importance on the program because it stands his stores apart in a very competitive marketplace, and it gets credit for bolstering storewide sales during the worst days of the economy’s downturn.
“It has brought people into our stores on a daily basis,” Lamb said. “It’s filling customers’ needs now, and I see it opening up other opportunities in the future.”
Tanney Staffenson, advisor to five-unit Lamb’s, told SN that customers know the indoor, wood-fired barbecue grills – turning out planked salmon, ribs, and slow-cooked tri tips, even steaks cooked to order, seven days a week – are unique in the area.
“When store sales dipped with the economy, the grill program experienced only a fraction of such a drop,” Staffenson said.
See the Fresh Market section of the September 13 issue of Supermarket News for a profile of Lamb’s grill program – a program that officials call the backbone of Lamb’s prepared foods program.
