Dash Food Stores held a grand opening celebration at its 63rd location on Aug. 8. The new 3,200-s.f. Dash In store in Frederick, Maryland, offers the local Urbana community a chef-driven menu of sandwiches along with a selection of healthy snacks and drinks, Shell Nitrogen-enriched fuel, as well as a Splash In Eco Car Wash, […]
Category: Northeast
The Shelby Report of the Northeast covers grocery retailers, wholesalers and suppliers in Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont. Follow the latest store openings, remodels, leadership changes and market news from the region.
Posted in, Northeast
State-Of-The-Art Digital Menu Boards Installed At Yankee Stadium
Visual Graphic Systems (VGS) has installed a state-of-the-art digital menu board system at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New York—allowing operators to easily change menu item images and providing patrons with calorie information and pricing. VGS installed 300 monitors throughout concession stands around the stadium as well as club suites. Operation managers requested that individual concessions feature wall-to-wall monitors, […]
Posted in, Northeast
Court Approves A&P Store Auction, Grants Permission To Close 25 Stores
A judge has given approval for A&P to proceed with auctions for 118 stores and approval for the chain to close 25 stores. Acme Markets (76 stores), Stop & Shop (25 stores) and Key Food (17) have been identified as “stalking horse” bidders for those units with a bid deadline of Sept. 11. If no better […]
Posted in, Northeast
Aspartame-Free Pepsi Hits Retail Shelves
PepsiCo’s aspartame-free beverage promotion began hitting store shelves recently with the rollout of the company’s reformulated Diet Pepsi. The front of the new Diet Pepsi can declares “Now Aspartame Free,” and PepsiCo says it plans an “aggressive” sampling campaign in stores. Diet Pepsi, Caffeine Free Diet Pepsi and Wild Cherry Diet Pepsi are sweetened with a […]
Posted in, Northeast
Chick-fil-A’s Largest Restaurant Coming To NYC In October
Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A has a grand opening date set and a local franchise owner for its first full free-standing restaurant in New York City. The restaurant, located at the corner of West 37th Street and 6th Avenue in the city’s Garment District in Lower Manhattan, is set to open Oct. 3 and will be the largest for […]
Posted in, Northeast
Door To Door Organics Expands To More Cities
Door to Door Organics, a natural and organic online grocer, plans to expand into two new markets—Des Moines, Iowa, and Columbus, Ohio, as well as additional areas of Colorado Springs and Pueblo, Colorado. This is the third major market expansion announcement from Door to Door Organics, following expansions in Milwaukee and Cleveland. Founded in 1997, Door […]
Posted in, Northeast
NRA To Partner With Groups For Presidents Conference, And More…
Food Service News In Brief… The National Restaurant Association will join the International Foodservice Distributors Association as co-host for the 53rd Annual Presidents Conference. The by-invitation-only forum will include leaders from the operator, manufacturer, distributor and allied partner communities. The Presidents Conference takes place Nov. 1-4 in Scottsdale, Arizona. This year’s theme is “Transformative Change, […]
Posted in, Northeast
Wawa Moves Closer To Beer Sales In Pennsylvania
The Concord Township Board of Supervisors in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, has voted unanimously to grant conditional use for Wawa to sell beer at its location in Chadds Ford. While the state must still approve Wawa’s request, initial approval by the township was the larger hurdle. The board previously granted similar approval to Acme, Whole Foods […]
Posted in, Northeast
National Restaurant Performance Dips For Second Straight Month
The National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Performance Index (RPI) declined in June for the second consecutive month. The RPI—a monthly composite index that tracks the health of and outlook for the U.S. restaurant industry—stood at 102.0 in June, down 0.4 percent from May and its lowest level in nine months. Despite the decline, June represented the 28th […]
Posted in, Northeast
Vermont Cheesemakers Take Home 46 Ribbons At National Competition, And More…
Supermarket News In Brief… The Vermont Cheese Council (VCC), the organization dedicated to the production and advancement of Vermont cheese, says Vermont took home 46 ribbons from 20 cheesemakers at the recent 32nd annual American Cheese Society competition in Providence, Rhode Island. Notable awards include a third place Best In Show designation for Cellars at […]
Posted in, Northeast
Boston Mayor Files Ordinance To Ban Smokeless Tobacco At Sports Venues, And More…
Convenience Store News In Brief… Boston Mayor Martin Walsh says he will take steps to prohibit the use of smokeless tobacco and other tobacco products at baseball parks, including Fenway Park, and other professional and amateur sports venues in Boston. He has filed an ordinance with the Boston City Council. The ordinance will ban smokeless […]
Posted in, Northeast
‘Something’s Brewing In Worcester’ Delayed Until Fall, And More…
Food Service News In Brief… The Massachusetts Restaurant Association has postponed its “Something’s Brewing In Worcester” event due to the extension of Worcester Restaurant Week. The event will be rescheduled to a later date in the fall… Herris Gourmet is supplying Kosher-certified food products to the Hudson News retailer in Terminal E of Logan International […]
Posted in, Northeast
Mass. Governor Signs Tax Holiday Into Law, And More…
New Channels News In Brief… Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker has signed into law a state sales tax holiday, which will be Aug. 15 and 16. The law is similar to those passed in past sessions and exempts sales tax collection for certain items purchased under $2,500. Items that will continue to be taxed include meals, […]
Posted in, Northeast
Hannaford Debuts Small-Format Store, Will Purchase Durham, N.H., Market
Hannaford is opening a smaller store, a 20,000-s.f. unit (less than half the size of a traditional Hannaford) in North Berwick, Maine, on Aug. 8. Some of the store’s features will include fresh produce, a walk-in beer cooler, as well as gluten-free, natural and organic items. The store will employ as many as 75 associates, […]
Posted in, Northeast
New NACS Resource Helps Retailers Assess Fresh Food Options
As more convenience stores consider expanding their fresh produce offering in stores, a new resource has been published to help operators examine what they need to be successful with a fresh produce program. “Are You Fit For Fresh?” is 10-point checklist developed by the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) and the United Fresh Produce Association. […]
Posted in, Northeast
College Study Suggests $15 Minimum Wage Could Hike Restaurant Prices
Boosting employee wages to $15 an hour at limited-service restaurants could lead to an estimated 4.3 percent increase in prices at those restaurants, according to a recent Purdue School of Hospitality and Tourism Management study. The study also says that increasing wages to $22 per hour would result in a 25 percent increase in menu prices. […]
Posted in, Northeast
Rite Aid Sales Rise, New CEO Appointed
Rite Aid’s same-store sales increased 2.4 percent for the four-week period ended July 25 compared to the prior-year period. July front-end same-store sales increased 0.1 percent. Pharmacy same-store sales increased 3.4 percent. Total drugstore sales for the four-week period increased 2.1 percent to $2.016 billion compared to $1.975 billion for the same period last year. […]
Posted in, Northeast
Wegmans To Open Fifth Bay State Store At The Natick Mall, And More…
Supermarket News In Brief… Wegmans plans to open a 125,000-s.f. Massachusetts store at the Natick Mall in Natick by spring 2017. It will be the Rochester, New York-based grocer’s fifth store in Massachusetts; the company’s fourth location, a 122,000-s.f. unit, is set to open on University Avenue in Westwood on Oct. 11. Wegmans also is […]
Posted in, Northeast
NightFood Expands Distribution Network, And More…
Convenience Store News In Brief… NightFood Holdings Inc. of Tarrytown, New Jersey, a company dedicated to delivering better nighttime snack solutions to shoppers, has expanded its broker and distribution network with broker coverage of the entire East Coast. The company has entered into exclusive broker arrangements with Main Street Marketing in the Southeast and Tozzi […]
Posted in, Northeast
Study Finds 3 Percent Drop In Independent Restaurant Count, And More…
Food Service News In Brief… A 3 percent drop in independent restaurant unit counts compared to year ago brought the total U.S. restaurant count down by 1 percent to 630,511 units, according to a census of U.S. commercial restaurant locations compiled in the spring and fall each year by The NPD Group, a national research […]