With more than $40 million dedicated to the remodeling and upgrading of more than a dozen supermarkets and fuel stations across its footprint, Tops Friendly Markets has taken substantial steps to modernize its facilities and improve accessibility and convenience for its customers.
Recent remodels in key locations such as Baldwinsville, Grand Island and Williamsville, New York, as well as Erie, Pennsylvania, have transformed these stores into modern shopping environments where customers can enjoy a seamless blend of tradition and innovation.
According to company officials, these remodels are designed not just to refresh the physical spaces but to reinvigorate the overall customer experience, ensuring that every visit to Tops is enjoyable and efficient.
Tops recently celebrated the grand reopening of its 92,000-square-foot flagship store in South Lockport, New York. Representing a $4 million investment, the renovation marks the largest undertaking in the company’s ambitious five-year capital improvement plan.
Shoppers in South Lockport will find new interior and exterior paint with welcoming awnings and landscaping, energy-efficient equipment and LED lighting inside and out. There also are new shopping carts, expanded state-of-the-art self-checkouts, renovated restrooms and an enlarged fresh perimeter with updated décor.
As is the case with many of the remodels, this location is all about perishables. The store features an expanded selection of fresh produce, complete with fresh-cut vegetables and fruit trays for quick and easy-to-serve convenience.
Shoppers also will discover a full-service seafood and meat department with certified butchers on hand, something Tops takes great pride in offering its customers. The South Lockport location is offering an expanded selection of antibiotic-free meat, sustainable seafood and plant-based options, along with more than 4,800 certified organic grocery items that are fully integrated in-aisle.
The expanded bakery offers an assortment of freshly baked breads, pastries, specialty cakes and old-fashioned doughnuts, fried fresh daily, along with gluten-free items from Vin-Chet’s, a local western New York bakery.
In addition, the store features chef-prepared rolled sushi and a full-service deli that offers fully prepared dinners, grab-and-go meals, salads, made-to-order subs and breakfast pizza.
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Staying open during construction
Tops chose to keep the store, which it recently acquired from the Perna family, open during the remodel. Mike Patti, SVP of Operations for Tops, noted that approach is always challenging for management and shoppers.
“This was one of our highest volume stores, and the remodel just took it to the next level. It’s probably our biggest transformation of a remodeled store yet,” he said.
The remodel took about five months to complete and, according to Patti, customers were excited to watch the progress and transformation.
“Prior to every remodel, we meet with the store’s teams and we’re forthcoming about what to expect,” Patti said. “We let them know working through the remodel will be a challenge and test their leadership skills. Our store team did a fantastic job mitigating any problems or interruptions.
“We’re investing not only in refreshing the space but invigorating the overall customer experience.”
John McCaffrey, regional VP for the East for Tops, noted that the new lighting and refrigerated equipment are more aesthetic and cost less to run.
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Tops also partners with two renewable energy companies, giving it the ability to harness the power of the sun to save on energy in more than 80 stores.
“We’ve incorporated a lot of high efficiency, self-contained units that do not require refrigerants to keep products cold,” he said. “Many of these new cases are from Pure Cold. They have been instrumental in helping us become more energy efficient and compliant with the upcoming change in federal laws regarding refrigerants. The new LED lighting creates a bright, clean look and is less costly to operate.”
Tops also has incorporated cases from several other manufacturers, some of which are smaller, self-contained spot cases that can be integrated where needed.
“If we ever decide to do further remodel work or expansion, these would be easy to move compared to a permanent refrigeration unit,” McCaffrey said.
He went on to describe the evolution of store equipment as “mind blowing.”
“Manufacturers continue to rework their offerings, and today’s options are so much more efficient,” he said. “The technology behind them is nothing short of amazing. I can only imagine five years down the road what the next generation of equipment will look like.”
Jim Gibson, Regional VP of store operations for the West for Tops, said the grocer incorporates the wants and needs of shoppers and store associates in every remodel.
“We have been known to make some tweaks based on feedback we receive. Our enlarged aisle signage with descriptions on front and back is an example of something we’ve recently incorporated that our customers wanted. The expansion of our fresh departments is also a result of feedback from customers.”
Expanding on this, Patti added, “We’ve been concentrating on improving and expanding the perimeter to stand out both in size and scope of offerings. If we aren’t listening to the consumer about what they want from a fresh standpoint, we’re probably not going to grow.
“At the same time, we probably listen to the associates as much as we listen to the consumer. The associates often know best because they work here every day.”
While the store was going through the remodel, there was talk of removing the self-service dessert case. However, after hearing about its importance from the store and bakery managers, the decision was made to keep it. The same autonomy often is extended to product assortments.
“We work with fresh item management to evaluate our core mix, but each store team has the option to adjust that as they see fit and include items that are important to their particular community and neighborhood demographics,” Patti said. “This extends to prepared foods and produce assortments.”
As a regional grocer, having flexible assortments is important, noted McCaffrey.
“Our stores in the Adirondacks, where tourism plays a large role, are asking for different things than a store in Buffalo,” he said. “What works in one might not in the other. It’s important we cater to each market individually.”
Stores also are encouraged to come up with unique products.
“Some of our stores have created their own items in house. If we think it is warranted, we will expand that item into some of our other stores,” he said.
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