Lowes Foods Opens New Store In Hampstead, N.C.
Lowes Foods is hosting its grand opening festivities at a new store at 17230 U.S. Hwy. 17 in Hampstead, N.C., today. This is the most recent Lowes Foods store to open in the Carolinas and the first in the Topsail area. The new Lowes Foods design is based on research that indicates consumers are always looking for more and better ways to save money, save time and support their communities, according to Lowes.
Grand opening events began at 7 a.m., though a reception and ribbon cutting ceremony was held Tuesday evening.
Lowes Foods features a number of signature products that are “the best of the best” in each department, including fried chicken, chicken grape salad, sweet tea, apple pie, pound cake, fresh ground sausage, fresh meat starter kits and more, the company says. These ready-made products help customers save time in the kitchen. Many products available in the store will be sourced locally, allowing a lower cost of distribution and fresher products for the customer while supporting other North Carolina-based businesses, according to Lowes.
The new store also will offer the exclusive Lowes Foods to Go personal shopping service to customers. Lowes Foods to Go shopping orders are placed either online or by telephone. The service is offered six days per week for a per-shop-fee of $4.95; discounted monthly and annual rates also are available.
Additionally, Lowes Foods offers Gas Rewards and NuVal nutritional scoring. Gas Rewards is a partnership with WilcoHess that allows customers to earn 5 cents off per gallon of gas for every $100 they spend in groceries at Lowes Foods. These discounts are available in Hampstead where the store features a fuel location. NuVal is a nutritional scoring system that rates foods from one to 100 based on their nutritional content. This number is displayed on the product’s shelf tag so that customers can tell the overall nutrition of an item at a glance.
Lowes Hampstead Store Manager Kirby Bolin has lived in the Pender County area for a number of years and says he excited about the opportunity for both he and his staff to serve the community.
Tuesday’s reception also served as the kick off to Lowes Foods 2013 Campaign to “Bag Childhood Hunger.” This annual food drive helps to feed Lowes’ neighbors in need right in the company’s local communities. A $1,000 product donation was presented to Livingstone Tabernacle Food Pantry, an affiliate of the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina at Wilmington at the ceremony.
Lowe’s Food Stores Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Alex Lee Inc. Founded in 1954, Lowe’s Food Stores employs nearly 9,000 people and operates 100 stores in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.
Shop And Save Market Opens In Downers Grove, Ill.
A new 45,000-s.f. Shop and Save Market opened earlier this month in Downers Grover, Ill., outside Chicago. The store is located at 7241 Lemont Rd. in the Downers Park Plaza.
“This is a very special store, for all of us,” said Ed Dubek, store director. “We are putting a lot of thought in tailoring our offering in a way which will resonate with the community. Exceeding expectation is our goal and we are ready to take it on with this store.”
The store features a European-style deli, offering a variety of deli cuts, many of them home-smoked and uniquely European. In addition, the store boasts many natural, soy, gluten- and nitrate-free deli choices as well as a variety of global items. The store’s bakery offers homemade cakes and cookies and more than than 20 kinds of breads and rolls baked fresh in store each day. The department also includes pastry chefs.
A full-service meat counter offers a selection of ready-to-cook items and unique cuts of meat, including fresh lamb and seafood.
The store’s “fresh to go” area features a variety of homemade Mediterranean delicacies like cured olives, hummus, tabbule, baba ganoush as well as sandwiches and salads, Greek yogurt and fruit cups. The soup counter offers more than 25 soup choices. In addition, Shop and Save Market in Downers Grove includes a number of “heat and serve” homemade dinners and sides.
“This new store is the working mother’s dream come true,” said Eva Jakubowski, president of Shop and Save Market. “Thanks to us, getting a nutritious, home-cooked meal on a table takes just a few minutes—our kitchen does all the work.”
Reasor’s To Aid In Storm Relief Efforts
Reasor’s is partnering with the Salvation Army to collect donations to help with disaster relief across central Oklahoma. It is asking that the public text the word “Storm” to 80888 to donate $10. Reasor’s will match the first $10,000 donated. Additionally, starting today, all 17 Reasor’s locations throughout northeastern Oklahoma will begin collecting the most needed items, including: brooms, mops, gloves, buckets, hand sanitizer, shovels and rakes.
“These recent tornadoes and severe storms that are sweeping through areas of Oklahoma have proven to be absolutely devastating and have caused a great deal of damage throughout our neighboring communities,” said EVP and COO Steve Lehto “I hope this effort will help provide some assistance to the residents who need support. Our hearts are broken and our prayers are with all the families affected by this tragedy.”
Reasor’s was founded 50 years ago in Tahlequah, Okla. It is one of the largest employee-owned companies in northeastern Oklahoma. Today, Reasor’s has 17 locations and two convenience stores and employs omore than 3,000 people.
Central Florida Publix Sells Winning Powerball Ticket
A Publix grocery store in Zephyrhills, Fla., sold the weekend’s winning Powerball ticket.
The lottery jackpot of $590.5 million was a Powerball record, and the ticket sold at the Central Florida Publix was the sole winner of Saturday’s drawing. The winning numbers were 10, 13, 14, 22, 52 and a Powerball of 11.
Today is the earliest the person holding the prized ticket can come forward since Florida’s lottery headquarters in Tallahassee were closed over the weekend. At this writing, the winner or group of winners of the jackpot had not come forward. Under Florida law, however, the winner’s name, age and hometown will be made public.
Maria Brous, spokeswoman for Lakeland, Fla.-based Publix Super Markets, told The Associated Press over the weekend that, while there are a lot of rumors about who won, the company doesn’t know.
“We’re excited for the winner or winners,” she said.
Zephyrhills is a suburb of Tampa located in Pasco County. It’s perhaps best known for its skydiving activity as well as Zephyrhills bottled water.
In the featured photo at top: A vehicle passes the front of the Publix supermarket in Zephyrhills, Fla., on Sunday where the highest Powerball jackpot worth an estimated $590.5 million was sold recently. (Photo by Scott Iskowitz, AP)
Whole Foods Opening Ninth Connecticut Store On Friday
Whole Foods Market is opening its ninth Connecticut location on Friday. The new store is located in Danbury at 5C Sugar Hollow Rd. in the Shops at Marcus Dairy, located directly across from the Danbury Fair Mall. The store opening celebrations will kick off with a traditional bread-breaking ceremony at 8:30 a.m. followed by storewide tastings, vendor sampling, special sale items, giveaways and other events for all ages.
The new Danbury store will feature more than 35,000 s.f. of retail space and offer natural and organic goods, with a heavy emphasis on products catering to the distinct tastes of the area, according Whole Foods. Customers can expect to see favorites like local and seasonal fresh produce, the company says. The store also will showcase in-store venues and departments.
Whole Foods says the Danbury store will pay homage to the location’s former resident, Marcus Dairy. The Burgers & Shakes bar draws inspiration from the location’s history and its famed Dairy Bar Restaurant. Topnotch burgers (grass-fed beef, turkey and veggie options available), push-cart-style hot dogs and made-to-order milkshakes are all featured on the menu, Whole Foods reveals.
“We’re excited to join the Danbury community and fulfill the needs of its shoppers with natural, organic and wholesome products,” says Pat Mulrooney, Whole Foods Market Danbury store team leader. “With its rich agricultural history, Danbury was a natural fit for Whole Foods Market, and we look forward to this fruitful partnership as we aim to provide the town with a unique shopping experience.”
The Danbury store will introduce several “first to market” specialties, such as all-natural varieties of retro-inspired desserts in the bakery department. The store also will feature made-in-house fruit juicing and smoothie kits available in 14 varieties, offering flavor combinations like Berry Berry, Kale and Celery, Apple and Beet as well as the company’s first fill-your-own coconut water growler option. The prepared foods section will showcase a stir-fry bar, while the meat department will offer a variety of cheese- and meat-stuffed burgers. Whole Foods Market Danbury will be the area’s first location to offer in-house dried fruit.
The Danbury store will continue to deliver quality meat free of antibiotics and added hormones, including locally sourced options from farms in the Northeast. It will offer fresh-caught seafood sourced by local vendors throughout the Northeast. Whole Foods Market 365 Everyday Value line of household staples and its Whole Body department of personal care products will be available as well.
With this opening marking the 350th store for the Austin, Texas-based company, Danbury will celebrate by offering the first 350 customers entering on May 17 both a free pound of raw and peeled shrimp and a free pound of fresh boneless, skinless chicken breast. The store’s Whole Body department will be holding an early bird sale from 9 a.m.-1p.m on body care and supplements.
Additionally, 5 percent of the day’s sales will be donated to the Danbury Museum and Historical Society. Whole Foods also has dedicated 5-percent day grants to four other local organizations through summer 2014, including:
• The Ridgefield Playhouse—fall 2013;
• CityCenter Danbury—winter 2014;
• The Land Trust of Danbury—spring 2014; and
• Plow to Plate of New Milford—summer 2014.
api(+) Designed Yummy Market In Toronto
api(+), a leader in retail architecture and design located in Tampa, Fla., provided architecture and interior design services for Yummy Market in Vaughn, Canada, a suburb of Toronto. The 50,000-s.f. store opened in February.
The store offers a European style shopping experience focused on prepared foods and imported specialties. The store has a 2,315-s.f. kitchen and is centered around a 3,050-s.f. bakery and patisserie that features breads, cakes and pastries baked from scratch. Other fresh departments include a delicatessen, a butcher shop, a fish monger, smoked fish, a juice bar, self-serve bulk nuts, produce, dairy and flowers.
The Yummy Market Vaughn location previously was occupied and branded by a recognized grocery store chain. api(+) defined the Yummy Market brand via architecture and design and worked around multiple existing elements that were kept to avoid replacement costs. Changes made to achieve the Yummy Market brand image include applying a new color and materials palette, relocating the bakery to the front of store and increasing in-store cooking and prepared foods.
Prominent design features include images of European landmarks, curved bulkheads and an open layout. Food sampling, an in-store cafe, materials that mirror the quality of products, and store planning designed to promote interaction create a branded shopping experience, according to api(+).
Juan Romero, president and CEO of api(+), said “We worked closely with Yummy Market owners, Anna and Alexei Tsvetkov, to bring their vision for a European food experience to life and to communicate their passion as merchants and their commitment to authentic European recipes.”
Find photos of the Yummy Market here.
Whole Foods To Open Second Alabama Store
Whole Foods Market plans to open its second location in Alabama in 2015.
The new store will open in the current Stein Mart space in the Pinecrest Shopping Center at the intersection of Airport Boulevard and South McGregor Avenue in Mobile. Whole Foods will lease the location.
“Mobile is a rapidly growing city with a lot of interest in healthy food options,” says Omar Gaye, Whole Foods Market South Region president. “We are looking forward to bringing the Whole Foods Market experience to Mobile and expanding our presence in the Gulf Coast area.”
Whole Foods Market estimates that the new store will add approximately 150 additional jobs in the Mobile market.
Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods opened its first Alabama location, in the Mountain Brook community of Birmingham, in 2007.
api(+) Designed Schnucks Grocery Store In Ballwin, Mo.
Tampa, Fla.-based api(+) provided architecture and interior design services for Schnucks Kehrs Mill location in Ballwin, Mo. The store is comprised of a 40,000-s.f. ground floor and a 5,000-s.f. mezzanine.
api(+) was selected for the project after its design success of Schnucks’ 80,000-s.f. flagship located in Des Peres, Mo. The Ballwin location, which opened in November 2012, is a smaller version of the flagship. It’s designed to promote shopper interaction, host community events and to provide fresh and prepared foods in response to the current trends toward shopping as a social experience and purchasing fresh items to support a healthy lifestyle.
The mezzanine features seating for in-store dining and will host community events and meetings. The fresh and prepared food lineup includes a pizzeria, a cheese island, an olive bar, Sandwich Express featuring Boar’s Head, Schnucks Cooks demonstration station, an aged beef cooler, an expansive wine, and liquor selection and wine tasting counter.
api(+)’s scope of services for the project include architecture, interior design, lighting, signage and graphics and finish, color palette and fixture selection. LED lighting highlights product color and texture and architectural features. Oriented strand board, a sustainable wood particleboard and other materials with high-recycled content were selected for signage and décor.
