Price Chopper Enters High-End Market With New Market Bistro
By Kara Murphy, contributing writer, Integrated Solutions For Retailers
Concept store is Price Chopper’s biggest investment ever
Price Chopper isn’t known for being a high-end grocer. But now the store is entering the elite grocery market with a new concept store called Market Bistro, debuting near Albany, N.Y.
“We’ll be on par with Wegmans and superior in some things we’re doing,” Price Chopper executive board chairman Neil Golub told the Progressive Grocer during a media tour of the store last fall — four years in the planning — which underwent $10 million-plus in renovations and additions. Golub and other executives have declined to say exactly how much they have invested in the store.
The store, scheduled for total completion this spring, includes a New York-style deli, a stone-fired pizza counter, a craft beer station, and an expanded meat selection that recently included selections of wild boar, lamb merguez, and duck-Armagnac. It also includes an area dedicated to a cooking school, and a health station where customers can see a doctor. At its entrance is a food court featuring a dozen eateries, including everything from sushi to soups and a sit-down, full-service restaurant. The food court design was inspired by iconic American locations like Peaks Park Market, said Lewis Shaye, a vice president of culinary concepts for Price Chopper.
The store will be 90,000 square feet when complete and employ more than 400 people.
“This is probably our biggest investment ever in a store,” Golub said on the media tour.
Golub also said Market Bistro will be Price Chopper’s test site for other innovations and products. The chain, which has 130 stores overall in six eastern states, is based in Schenectady, N.Y.
Price Chopper’s entry into the high-end grocery business comes at a time when there is increased competition in the Albany area. ShopRite, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, The Fresh Market, and an expanded food co-op have all recently opened or plan to open soon.