According to the Facebook page, the store will be open during remodeling. The new store will be smaller in size and have significantly smaller sections of grocery, dairy, and frozen foods; the focus will be on the deli/prepared foods section. Going forward, there will also be no circular. If I were Olive Tree management, I would focus more on produce and deli, even if the store were the same size. The countless greengrocers in our area effectively use that business model. But only time will tell, I guess, what actually happens.
The store on Staten Island will remain open as a Shop Fair Supermarket.
I’ve been in this store a few times since it’s directly in between two work places I need to be in. It’s usually around 2 pm and it’s always empty. I am either the only patron or there’s a maximum of 2 others. There are just too many good grocery stores close by for anyone to shop here on a regular basis for staples, especially with the new Wegmans down the street. It could be busy before or during lunch.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the plaza they’re in is kind of lackluster. There is another shopping center just up the road called the Shoppes at Denville which is packed with mall type stores and very busy —so the right customers are driving by. I’d suggest they move to the space that Pier 1 is vacating in that plaza rather than stay where they are.
Having said that, their prepared foods and deli are wonderful and a great compliment to existing grocery stores. Much like a Trader Joe’s is a nice place to hit once or twice a week for fun food you can’t get at Shoprite or stop and shop.
On my most recent visit, I was the only one in there, so I know what you're talking about! I think their goal in this renovation is to trim the fat of what they don't need (like dry grocery) and can't sell competing with larger stores like ShopRite and Wegmans.
DeleteI think the problem here is not limited to the selection, though; the owners of this store also own other supermarkets in New York City that are struggling. One of the stores owned by the owners, the Shehadeh brothers, was a Foodtown that switched to Shop Fair and then went out of business, all within two years. They probably don't have the skill or experience to run a successful store, and unfortunately, the group they run their stores through (Shop Fair) doesn't provide enough if any guidance to its owners. That said, I'd love to see this store reposition itself as basically a gourmet deli and continue successfully that way. We'll have to see!