Food 4 Less will host a grand reopening of its latest remodeled store at 1717 South Western Avenue in South Los Angeles’ Harvard Heights neighborhood on Wednesday, Aug. 2. The 39,000-s.f. store’s renovation features a new exterior design, new interior décor, refreshed center store, new service deli/bakery offerings and an expanded produce department. The store […]
Author Archives: Shelby Report Staff

The Shelby Report newsroom covers the grocery industry for retailers, wholesalers and suppliers. Staff reports include store openings, executive appointments, company announcements and industry event coverage. Since 1967, The Shelby Report has covered supermarkets, grocery chains and independent grocers through five regional editions.
Safeway Eastern Division Marking 87th Anniversary With Gas Promotion
Safeway Eastern Division stores in Maryland, Virginia, the District of Columbia, Delaware and Florida will celebrate the company’s 87th anniversary throughout the month of August with a special anniversary sale featuring 4x Gas Rewards on top-selling items. When shoppers purchase Safeway Anniversary Sale items, every $1 spent on these items will earn four times the usual Gas […]
Family-Owned GES Has A Hit With Edwards Cash Saver
by Terrie Ellerbee/editor-Southwest When the ownership of longtime community grocer Knight’s Super Foods in Beebe, Arkansas, changed hands from one family to another early this year, there likely was some apprehension in the community. The Knight family had been very active in Beebe. People knew and trusted them. Paul Rowton was sensitive to those feelings. […]
ShopRite Opens Newest Store In Plainview, New York
ShopRite has opened its newest full-service supermarket in Plainview, New York. The 68,000-s.f. grocery store also serves as a retail anchor for Country Pointe at Plainview, a development that will include a mix of housing and retail shops when completed. The Greenfield family, third- and fourth-generation grocers who own four other ShopRites on Long Island, operate […]
FDA To Pursue Lower Nicotine Levels In Tobacco Products
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced new tobacco and nicotine regulations with a goal of “better protecting children and significantly reducing tobacco-related disease and death.” The approach places levels of nicotine, and the issue of addiction, at the center of the agency’s tobacco regulation efforts. The goal is to ensure that the FDA has the […]
Cumberland Farms Says It Saved Customers $75M Through SmartPay Program
Cumberland Farms says its customers have saved $75 million through use of the SmartPay program, which launched in January 2013. Available as both a free payment card and a mobile payment app, SmartPay Check-Link users automatically save 10 cents on every gallon of gas at any Cumberland Farms gas retail location throughout the Northeast and Florida. Cumberland Farms has made the […]
Florida Holds First Best Bagger Contest
The Florida Grocers Association (FGA) recently held its first best bagger competition. Eight baggers competed, representing Bravo Supermarkets, Lucky’s Market, Publix, Sedano’s and Winn-Dixie. Kelina Salinas of Lucky’s won the $1,000 grand prize along with an all-expense paid trip to represent Florida and compete for a $10,000 grand prize at the National Grocers Association National […]
Earth Fare’s 42nd Store Will Make August Debut In Florida
Specialty grocer Earth Fare will open its newest Florida store on Aug. 23 in Mandarin. The unit, at 11700 San Jose Boulevard, will mark the 42nd Earth Fare location nationwide and the second in the Jacksonville area. The chain operates other Florida stores in Ocala, Gainesville, Tallahassee and Seminole. “Almost three years ago, Jacksonville welcomed […]
Oliver’s Market Reaffirms Its Focus On Community With Launch Of ESOP
by Alissa Marchat/staff writer Oliver’s Market, Sonoma County’s largest locally owned and independent grocer, in early June celebrated the sale of 43 percent of the company to employees through an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP). The company also registered with the state of California as a social purpose corporation, allowing leadership to consider employees, the […]
Best Practices For Supermarket Advertising Budget Allocation
To entice consumers to shop in-store or online, supermarkets must set aside a budget for advertising. With a range of 0.02-4.0 percent, food retailers spend an average of 1.25 percent of sales (excluding pharmacy and gasoline dollars) on advertising. The recently released “2017 Promotional and Advertising Practices Study Among U.S. Grocery Retailers,” published by Aptaris […]
House Advances National Menu Labeling Bill
The National Grocers Association (NGA) on Thursday praised the House Energy and Commerce Committee for advancing the Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act (House Resolution 772). The bipartisan bill, introduced by U.S. Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Washington) and Tony Cardenas (D-California), would clarify the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) final rule on menu labeling to “create […]
The Fresh Market Refreshing 11 Atlanta-Area Stores
Eleven Atlanta-area The Fresh Market stores will unveil the specialty grocer’s refreshed look and offerings on Aug. 9. Stores will include an expanded selection of fresh food that furthers the brand’s “long-standing dedication to offering top-quality, unique and small-batch items,” according the chain. Additionally, the stores will feature an interactive sampling station designed to inspire […]
‘Tally’ Robot To Audit Shelves At Three Schnucks Stores
Schnuck Markets is turning to a high-tech partner to help maintain an “exceptional” shopping experience: an aisle-roving robot named Tally. Schnucks and Simbe Robotics will collaborate to test-pilot Tally at three St. Louis metro area stores beginning July 31. During the six-week pilot, Tally will be charged with scanning store aisles three times a day […]
Brookshire Brothers Joins Topco Associates
Topco Associates on Wednesday said that Lufkin, Texas-based Brookshire Brothers has joined its membership. “Brookshire Brothers’ philosophy of innovation and commitment to serving customers’ needs makes it a great addition to Topco’s membership, especially as we drive new ways to advance as one in the marketplace. We look forward to helping them leverage Topco’s platform […]
Stew Leonard’s In Danbury, Connecticut, Rolls Out Meal Delivery In Under An Hour
Stew Leonard’s in Danbury, Connecticut, has partnered with Vroom Service Now for delivery of the grocer’s meals in under an hour. “While the Leonards first started as milk deliverymen 100 years ago, offering home meal delivery is an exciting new chapter in my family’s fresh food business,” said Jake Tavello, store director of Stew Leonard’s […]
Snyder’s-Lance To Spend $20M On Hyannis, Mass., Plant Expansion
Snyder’s-Lance plans to expand its Hyannis, Massachusetts, Cape Cod Chips plant by nearly 40,000 s.f. The $20 million project will add to the plant’s manufacturing, warehouse and office and retail spaces. Cape Cod and Snyder’s-Lance recently filed project plans with the Cape Cod Commission. “Our company continually evaluates our operations to best use our investments and […]
Group Encourages Stores To Drop Ben & Jerry’s Unless Organic Commitment Is Made
The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) reports that 10 of 11 samples of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream tested positive for glyphosate, a key ingredient in Roundup herbicide. OCA is calling for Ben & Jerry’s, a Vermont-based subsidiary of Unilever, to begin an immediate transition to using only organic ingredients, including milk, in its products or face a […]
Smart & Final Posts 2Q Same-Store Sales Growth
On July 25, Smart & Final Stores reported financial results for its fiscal second quarter ended June 18, achieving both net and comparable-store increases. Net sales were up 3.9 percent to $1.08 billion, and comparable store sales were up 1.3 percent during the quarter at Smart & Final, which operates 314 grocery and foodservice stores […]
Getting SMART About Back-To-School
by Naomi Sleeper/director of business development, Imperial Distributors As the summer season comes to a close, families are starting to do their back-to-school (BTS) shopping. According to a National Retail Federation (NRF) study, BTS and college spending is the second highest shopping season for retailers, after the winter holidays. Total BTS spending accounts for more than […]
Stop & Shop To Close Older Medford, Mass., Store; Adds New Unit In Conn.
Stop & Shop is closing a smaller, older store at 471 Salem Street in Medford, Massachusetts, in mid- to late August and expanding a larger store in that community. The grocery chain also recently opened a new store in Litchfield, Connecticut. The Stop & Shop store at 760 Fellsway in Medford remains open as it […]
