Last updated on November 28th, 2017 at 01:38 pm
Stop & Shop’s bfresh Markets in the Boston-area communities of Somerville and Alston as well as Eastside Marketplace in Providence, Rhode Island, will be integrated into the Stop & Shop brand, the Quincy, Massachusetts-based chain announced Nov. 17. The bfresh stores operated under the Fresh Formats LLC umbrella.
Stop & Shop says the decision was made as it began to implement its previously announced “brand-centric strategy that puts the customer at the center of everything it does including offering products, services and store formats that are tailored to the markets in which they operate.”
“As part of our brand-centric strategy, Stop & Shop plans to develop new, small-store format opportunities,” said President Mark McGowan. “Fresh Formats was specifically created to develop and test format opportunities to understand what works and what doesn’t work in urban and other small-store locations. We will apply key learnings from bfresh and the Eastside Marketplace—such as innovative technology, fresh prepared meals, a health-focused assortment and exciting ways to engage customers digitally and online—to Stop & Shop stores more broadly and to future alternative and small-format store opportunities.”
Stop & Shop also announced plans to open a new small-format store at the planned bfresh location in Newton, Massachusetts, in 2018.
The bfresh store located at 470 Washington Street in Brighton, Massachusetts, closed on Saturday, Nov. 25.
“We are sensitive to the impact the closing of the bfresh Brighton store will have on its teammates, loyal customers and the Brighton community it serves, and we’ll support impacted teammates through this transition,” McGowan said.
Teammates at the Brighton store will have the opportunity to transfer to the Allston and Somerville stores. Stop & Shop will discuss the process with the United Food and Commercial Workers union, which represents those staff members.
Everything Fresh store in Philly has closed
In other news, Christopher Brand, spokesperson for Stop & Shop parent company Ahold Delhaize, confirmed that the Everything Fresh store located in Philadelphia closed on Saturday, Nov. 25.
“The decision to close the Everything Fresh store was a difficult one, but the location was always considered a ‘learning lab,’ and we intend to use those learnings going forward. We are evaluating the best options for the Philadelphia sites and have no further announcements to make at this time,” said Brand.
