Nebraska’s rural grocery stores are facing increasing financial and logistical hurdles, but new legislative efforts seek to provide targeted support to sustain these essential businesses. Carlie Jonas, policy associate at the Center for Rural Affairs in Lyons, Nebraska, has been involved in addressing these challenges. “We worked with one of the senators, Teresa Ibach, at […]
Category: Independent Store News
Posted inIndependent Store News, News, Northeast, Tops Friendly Markets
Tops Exceeds Goal During Gift Of Warmth Clothing Drive
Tops Friendly Markets collaborated for the second year with M&T Bank and The Salvation Army for the Gift of Warmth campaign, a winter clothing drive. The 39th annual campaign collected 4,848 items – hats, gloves, mittens and scarves – in bins at 53 Tops locations and 84 M&T branches in the Buffalo-Rochester, New York, region. […]
Posted inIndependent Store News, Association News, National, News
EPA Rollback of HFC Regulations Eases Compliance Costs for Independent Grocers
In a win for independent grocers, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has rolled back regulations targeting hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in refrigeration systems, a move the National Grocers Association (NGA) calls “a critical step toward leveling the playing field” for community-focused supermarkets. The decision, announced March 12, eliminates costly compliance mandates that burden small and independent grocery […]
Posted inIndependent Store News, Midwest, News
Lunds & Byerlys To Close Downtown St. Paul Location
Lunds & Byerlys plans to shutter its store at 115 East 10th St. in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota, at the close of business March 26. “It’s a decision we didn’t want to make, but one we needed to make given the significant staffing and financial challenges we’ve experienced over the past five years,” the grocer […]
Posted inIndependent Store News, Food City, Southeast
Cochran Named Food City’s Store Manager Of The Year
Food City named Mitch Cochran as its 2025 Jack C. Smith Store Manager of the Year during a meeting Feb. 27 in Knoxville, Tennessee. The award is named in memory of the company’s founder and former chairman of the board. Cochran, who manages Food City No. 743 in Cleveland, Tennessee, achieved outstanding performance across a […]
Posted inIndependent Store News, H-E-B, News, Southwest
H-E-B Seeking ‘Quest For Texas Best’ Entries
H-E-B is accepting entries through April 23 for its 12th annual “Quest for Texas Best,” a competition to find the top products made in the state. Participants will compete for a combined $100,000 in cash prizes and the opportunity to land their products on H-E-B shelves across the state. Over the past decade, H-E-B has […]
Posted inIndependent Store News, Corporate Store News, Feature, Northeast
Northeast Grocers Tailor Strategies For Latino Customers
by Diana Leza Sheehan / founder, principal consultant, PDG Insights In this new series, we explore the opportunity created for retailers by targeting Latino grocery consumers across the United States. For context, the Latino population in 2024 reached about 66 million, or about 19.5 percent of the total U.S. population. Spending power among this diverse […]
Posted inIndependent Store News, Association News, Corporate Store News, National
Grocery Industry Faces Inflation, Tariff Uncertainty, FMI Reports
The grocery industry is grappling with many challenges, including inflation and the threat of tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, according to FMI – The Food Industry Association’s 2025 Inflation & Food Price Outlook. Andrew Harig, FMI’s VP of tax, trade, sustainability and policy development, highlighted the mixed signals in recent inflation data during […]