Shop Rite

[BillyGr]

Although it sounds like a remodel would be nice for the customers, it doesn't seem (based on your post below) that it is hurting their business (if they have enough people to warrant parking farther away to get in).

[Bdubs]

I thought Norwich was pretty much done, however I guess not. The phamacy has opened, and the dairy case, which is located in the last aisle, was an open air old case, they replaced it with a brand new closing door cooler case. At least 30 doors, its huge. This was installed about a week ago.  All the natural food, refrigerated and frozen have now ben placed in regular aisles, no longer in the middle of the store.
The outside facade is coming along nice.  They still havent touched the Shop Rite store front yet.

[Joeg]

Keep us posted on the Norwich CT progress.

[Joeg]

Any word on ANY new Shoprites opening in CT/Wmass (except East Haven CT)??

[MikeRa]

This story was in the philadelphia inquirer on 8/1:

The Fresh Grocer chain of supermarkets will join Wakefern Food Corp., a retailer-owned cooperative that supplies Shop Rite supermarkets, Wakefern announced Wednesday.

Fresh Grocer cofounder Patrick Burns will continue to own the chain's eight stores, which are primarily in the Philadelphia region, while Wakefern will own the Fresh Grocer name.

The Fresh Grocer store in Drexel Hill will become a Shop Rite next month, but the others will retain the Fresh Grocer banner.

"I've always from afar admired the Wakefern-Shop Rite operation," Burns said. "I've seen them grow over the years from 5 and 6 in the market to No. 1."


Shop Rite fell to second in local market share after Giant Food Stores bought 16 Genuardi's stores last year, according to Food Trade News.
With $165.6 million in sales, Fresh Grocer did not rank among the top 20 food retailers in the eight-county Philadelphia region, according to the 2013 market-share report by Food Trade News.

"Adding the strength of the Fresh Grocer brand and its unique offering will help us to continue our growth in the Philadelphia marketplace," said Joe Sheridan, president and chief operating officer of Wakefern, which is based in Keasbey, N.J., and supplies nearly 250 supermarkets.

Fresh Grocer locations near universities, such as the University of Pennsylvania and Temple, were attractive to Wakefern, Sheridan said.

They "will give us new insight into the next generation of consumers and will expand our reach to a new customer," he said.

Burns said that joining the Wakefern cooperative will allow Fresh Grocer to be more competitive than it could be with a distributor.

"When you're a co-op member, you can be the best pricing in the market," he said.

Fresh Grocer, founded in 1995 and employing 1,500, has six stores in the Philadelphia area and one each in Wilmington and New Brunswick, N.J., near the Rutgers University campus.

The Fresh Grocer brand eventually could be used throughout the Wakefern footprint, which stretches from Connecticut to Maryland, but there are no immediate plans for that, a Wakefern official said.

Richard George, a professor of food marketing at St. Joseph's University, said the deal was a great move for both parties.

"I think the nice thing about it is they're keeping the Fresh Grocer banner, with one exception," George said. "It has a nice niche."

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/restaurants/20130801_Fresh_Grocer_to_join_Shop_Rite_supplier_Wakefern.html

[Joeg]

Any word on the Shoprite of Norwich and East Haven CT stores?  The East Haven store must be getting close to having a Grand Opening.

[ynkeesfn82]

East Haven is opening this fall.

[Bdubs]

Norwich is still moving stuff around. That seems to be the slowest process so far. Every time I go in there, something has moved.

[ynkeesfn82]

The new Shoprite in Glasgow, Delaware just opened.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151542290012163.1073741843.81828647162&type=3

[ynkeesfn82]

I have yet to confirm the opening date for East Haven, CT beyond what's already known which is "this fall". I also can not confirm when construction will start on the replacement store in Milford, CT.

[JimSawhill]

The Drust Family seriously needs to do something about the Wallingford, Connecticut store. I was in Wallingford today and popped into the store. It was overcrowded, understaffed, and cramped. Not only were there not enough registers open, they don't have enough. There are only 12 including the 4 Self Checkouts. It's kind of strange because Wallingford Shoprite is bigger than their sister store in Southington yet Southington has 17 registers including the 4 Self Checkouts. Serious Remodel is needed in Wallingford.

Don't you work for the Drust family anymore?? I see that you don't have the disclaimer anymore.

[ynkeesfn82]

Don't you work for the Drust family anymore?? I see that you don't have the disclaimer anymore.

Nope. Left July 12th. Hours were cut to just 4 hours a week. And now I haven't found a replacement job so I'm screwed. No Income = No Money = Car Insurance Cancelled = No Driving. 2 Maxed out over the limit credit cards can't pay and a loan I had to take to fix my car that I can't pay.

[ynkeesfn82]

Any word on the Shoprite of Norwich and East Haven CT stores?  The East Haven store must be getting close to having a Grand Opening.

East Haven is opening September 21st. From Shoprite's Facebook Page:

The NEW ShopRite of East Haven, Conn., located in the newly renamed ShopRite Plaza at 745 Foxon Road, will celebrate its grand opening Saturday, September 21!

Mayor Joseph Maturo Jr. and State Senator Len Fasano are scheduled to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony and grand opening festivities, beginning at 7:30a.

Earlier this year, Mayor Maturo announced the opening of the new ShopRite by saying, “East Haven is proud to welcome ShopRite to town, and especially to the Route 80 corridor. ShopRite’s arrival will be an enormous economic boost for the community, will provide hundreds of new job opportunities, and will complement the wonderful businesses currently operating on and around Route 80.”

The new ShopRite of East Haven is owned and operated by the Garafalo family of Milford, Conn., who currently operate ShopRite stores in Milford, Stratford, West Haven and Hamden, Conn. The 59,000 square foot ShopRite offers the local community a wide range of products and services at ShopRite’s traditional low prices and will employ 250 full and part time associates.

In addition to a broad array of groceries and fresh produce delivered seven days a week, the supermarket offers many amenities ShopRite customers have come to expect, including: a fresh bake shop that can create custom wedding cakes; custom cut fresh meats; fresh seafood delivered daily; a full-service floral department; a pharmacy; as well as a broad selection of ethnic foods, including a diverse selection of groceries from around the world. Natural and organic products will be available throughout the store, which will also feature a large selection of gluten-free items.

An on-site Dietitian will offer free services helping customers shop for healthy choices or specific diets and a full- service pharmacy department will provide health and wellness solutions and screenings for customers.

Coming soon, the ShopRite of East Haven will offer ShopRite from Home, a convenient service for customers who wish to place their orders online using a computer or mobile device and schedule either in-store pickup or home delivery.

The new store is outfitted with the latest energy-saving and sustainable technologies in refrigeration and lighting, including LED and T-8 lighting and environmentally friendly refrigerant systems.

“This is a great opportunity for my family and me to share the ShopRite experience with the East Haven community. We look forward to bringing the same level of customer service, variety, value and low prices that we offer in our other ShopRites to this new location,” said Harry Garafalo, President of Milford Markets. “We look forward to becoming a part of the East Haven community and have appreciated all the positive comments about our project and the warm welcome we have received from everyone in town.”

[ynkeesfn82]

Shoprite's new location in Drexel Hill, PA (formerly The Fresh Grocer).

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151579149367163.1073741844.81828647162&type=3

[Joeg]

Does anyone have pictures of the new Shoprite of East Haven CT??  Going to the store on Wed.

[JimSawhill]

Don't you work for the Drust family anymore?? I see that you don't have the disclaimer anymore.

Nope. Left July 12th. Hours were cut to just 4 hours a week. And now I haven't found a replacement job so I'm screwed. No Income = No Money = Car Insurance Cancelled = No Driving. 2 Maxed out over the limit credit cards can't pay and a loan I had to take to fix my car that I can't pay.

Marc:

     Sorry to hear that...your hours were cut to just 4 a week... Gosh, what was wrong?

[ynkeesfn82]

Mom had to take a client to Shoprite in Bristol, Connecticut today. The Dollar Store next door closed down and an employee of Shoprite told my Mom most likely Shoprite was going to take over the space to expand their Shop-at-Home Operations.

[Ames Newington]

Mom had to take a client to Shoprite in Bristol, Connecticut today. The Dollar Store next door closed down and an employee of Shoprite told my Mom most likely Shoprite was going to take over the space to expand their Shop-at-Home Operations.

I saw that the dollar store closed when we shopped there Saturday. They have a bunch of window signs of their own in the old dollar store space. It really would be nice to see Shoprite renovate the exterior of the front of the store, and put the new logo up on the building. Although the Bristol store is old, it's still an efficient, well kept operation, and we like it better than the one I work at for shopping. They have so much more selection and all of the new items.

[ynkeesfn82]

What about the Shoprite in Southington where I used to work? Does your family ever go to that one? That one is closer to Newington than Bristol.

[MikeRa]

The Shop Rite on Roosevelt Boulevard also has the old 1974 "Shop Rite" circular logo, and a 1980's "Shop Rite" on the building.  The signs on the "Boulevard Plaza" street signage does have the current style Shop Rite signs.  This particular Shop Rite also expanded into the smaller store that's next to it.

The Shoprite on Roosevelt Boulevard, in Philadelphia, PA, has since gotten the current ShopRite signage, but still has the old Pharmacy sign and the old Citizens Bank signage (with the current RBS/Citizens Bank/Charter One logo):

[Ames Newington]

What about the Shoprite in Southington where I used to work? Does your family ever go to that one? That one is closer to Newington than Bristol.

They are about the same distance for us. We went to Bristol last week, because we all had a dentist appt. on North Main Street, and we went grocery shopping after that. We liked the store better overall. We had shopped there a few times before when down in Bristol. They do a good business and have many registers open.

[ynkeesfn82]

They're remodeling the Shoprite in Waterbury, CT. It moved from The Mattatuck Plaza into the former Price Chopper on Wolcott Street in 2008.  At the moment they're putting in more coolers. Maybe they'll do something with the former in-store Citizen's Bank, which closed in January.

Update. Had an appointment in Waterbury on Wednesday and stopped at Shoprite on the way home. Looks like they only thing they did was put in and add more coolers. They still haven't done anything with the old Citizens Bank space. They also extended the store hours. Open 7AM-Midnite Monday-Friday and 11PM on Saturdays and Sundays.

[Bdubs]

Norwich has finally started the Shop Rite side of their facade facelift. They took off the newer logos to rip everything off underneath, and there was an old school Shop Rite label scar underneath.

[Joeg]

I hope there grand re-opening is soon..keep us updated.

[MikeRa]

Here is a pic of the ShopRite of Morrell Park.  This location is a brand new build, built on the site of a former Food Fair-Pantry Pride/A&P-Super Fresh Food Market/Shop n Bag:


This location also has an "Aria Health FastCare" inside the store.

[MikeRa]

Here is a pic of The Fresh Grocer at 5601 Chestnut Street, in Philadelphia.  It's new store # from Wakefern is Store #432.  November 3 was the 1st day the Fresh Grocer were officially using "The Fresh Grocer Price Plus Card", plus the also will take the ShopRite Price Plus Card.

[ynkeesfn82]

I did some shopping at Shoprite in Bristol last night. It was the first time in quite a while that I've been there. The interior in places is starting to remind me of their sister store in Waterbury including the bathrooms. They have put in new refridgeration units in the meat department. Maybe it's because of how the store is laid out, but it seems like the store is smaller than Shoprite in Southington. On the outside the store still sports the old school pre-2003 sign. A few letters do not light up. The former Dollar Forever store next door remains empty. Shoprite has a lot of their posters hanging in the windows. I still believe they need to close the store for a few months and completely gut and redo the store.

[Ames Newington]

I did some shopping at Shoprite in Bristol last night. It was the first time in quite a while that I've been there. The interior in places is starting to remind me of their sister store in Waterbury including the bathrooms. They have put in new refridgeration units in the meat department. Maybe it's because of how the store is laid out, but it seems like the store is smaller than Shoprite in Southington. On the outside the store still sports the old school pre-2003 sign. A few letters do not light up. The former Dollar Forever store next door remains empty. Shoprite has a lot of their posters hanging in the windows. I still believe they need to close the store for a few months and completely gut and redo the store.

Bristol is set up so weird. The store goes in a weird direction. The front end is actually on the right side of the store away from the entrance. Most of the inside is not so bad for an old store, but I do think they should at least reconstruct the exterior in front and put the newer logo on it. From the street, it looks uninviting. At least they should paint the front.

[Joeg]

Did Shop-Rite of Norwich CT have its Grand Re-Opening yet??

[Bdubs]

Did Shop-Rite of Norwich CT have its Grand Re-Opening yet??

Not yet, they are putting some finishing touches on the outside of the plaza. They have sunk some serious cash into this project.