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Longo Brothers Fruit Market opened a 23,000-square-foot store in Toronto’s Liberty Village neighborhood in January. The retailer said the location is its 36th store overall and marks its first brewery integration, with Amsterdam Brewing Co. craft beer made on-site.
In April, Raley’s opened its new flagship store in the Land Park neighborhood of Sacramento, Calif. The retailer has served the Land Park community since 1941, and the company said the flagship store brings a modernized shopping experience that reflects its vision to promote customer health and wellness.
California grocer Raley’s also opened its first-ever Raley’s O-N-E Market this year in the Northern California town of Truckee. The 35,000-square-foot location blends the grocer’s 85-year commitment to exceptional service with a focus on transparency and education to create a unique shopping destination with a highly curated product selection.
In July, Whole Foods opened the doors to its 14th New York City location, a 60,245-square-foot store next to Manhattan’s massive Hudson Yards multi-use development. And less than a week later, the Austin, Texas-based specialty grocer opened a 46,000-square-foot store near Howard University in the D.C. neighborhood of Pleasant Plains.
H-E-B opened a food hall and bar late this summer at its store in the Mueller section of Austin, Texas, that houses six restaurants. Called Main Streat by H-E-B, the venue marks a first for the Austin community, H-E-B said. Restaurants inside the food hall include Roots Chicken Shak, True Texas BBQ, Calle Taqueria, Yumai Japanese Grill, The Meltery and Bar at Mueller.
Albertsons Cos.’ retail innovation is in full force at two of its marquee stores: the Albertsons Market Street in Meridian, Idaho, and the Safeway supermarket in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
Walmart in September began Supercenter upgrades designed to create a more digitally enabled shopping experience, with plans to update 200 locations in fiscal 2021 and almost 1,000 stores by fiscal 2022.
Pacific Northwest grocer Quality Food Centers (QFC), a division of The Kroger Co., and Tutta Bella Neapolitan Pizzeria, a popular Seattle Neapolitan pizzeria chain, teamed up this fall to open a counter service-style Tutta Bella location inside QFC’s high-volume University Village location in Seattle.
Schnuck Markets is currently wrapping up remodels of two stores in the downtown and Central West End areas of St. Louis that will bring expanded fresh and prepared foods plus more self-service options.
Schnucks also launched its new “EatWell, A Natural Food Store by Schnucks” concept this summer. The St. Louis-based retailer is targeting customers prioritizing health and wellness, natural and organic foods, and “the occasional splurge.”
Southeastern Grocers in November opened the first four locations of eight acquired Earth Fare and Lucky’s Market stores in Florida under the Winn-Dixie banner. At the four new Winn-Dixies, customers will find new signature categories plus a wider product selection and more specialty items in each department. The Gainesville store also houses Winn-Dixie’s fifth Taproom, expanding the banner’s “sip and shop” offering.
The new Amazon Fresh supermarkets offer an extensive selection of fresh produce, meat and seafood as well as an array of baked goods and prepared foods made fresh daily by the store’s culinary teams. Customers also will find a wide assortment of national brands and private labels, including brands from Amazon and its Whole Foods Market subsidiary. The first store opened in Woodland Hills, Calif., in August, with more planned to open in California and Chicago.
