Photo: FreshTake
Will Grocery Shoppers Take To FreshTake’s Community Hub?
While plenty of grocers are turning to technology to feed many shoppers’ “get in, get out” mentality, a new concept, FreshTake, features an in-store bar, outdoor putting green, and a “grill while you shop” option to get people to linger.
The concept, scheduled to open next year in Augusta, Georgia, comes from Jackson Mitchell, a fourth-generation member of the family that owns the southern wholesale distributor Mitchell Grocery. Mitchell, 28, operates Little Giant Farmers Market, a five-store grocery chain in the Atlanta area that he acquired in 2019 after serving as the director of store development for his family’s business.
Opening in a former 42,000-square-foot Whole Foods location, FreshTake will feature seating for 130, two outdoor balconies, as well as a spacious mezzanine seating area above the in-store cafe, providing a spot for professionals to work or meet over coffee with complimentary Wi-Fi.
The outdoor patio seating area is expected to be a prime attraction, boasting a walk-up barbecue smokehouse for lunch or dinner. FreshTake’s press release states, “Patrons can also unwind by the fire pit or practice their golf skills on the 5-hole putting green, making FreshTake a destination that appeals to families and individuals alike.”
Inside the store, a major draw is expected to be “Jackson’s,” a bar featuring 13 flat-screen TVs for sports viewing, 10 beers on tap, and made-to-order sushi and bar food items. Ample foodservice options, including sushi and sandwich bars, a bakery, a pizza and pasta station, and a fresh-squeezed juice and smoothie bar, will also be offered in-store. A “grill while you shop” option enables shoppers to select their choice of fresh meat to be prepared by in-store chefs. The seafood department will also provide free steaming services.
About 12,000 square feet of the store’s area will be dedicated to foodservice and entertainment, according to Supermarket News.
“This store represents the culmination of my career and a deep love for the grocery business,” said Mitchell in the press release. “Our goal is to create a space that not only offers top-quality groceries but also becomes a hub for the community, where people can come together to enjoy great food, entertainment, and convenience.”
The concept is an amplification of many ongoing experiments in grocery retail. H-E-B, Publix, and Wegmans are among grocers known for their extensive in-store foodservice offerings, and Publix, Whole Foods, Kroger, Mariano’s, and Albertsons have bars in select stores.
Discussion Questions
Are experiential and community-based grocery concepts such as FreshTake’s likely to be successful? What aspects of FreshTake’s approach do you like most and least?
Poll
Loading …BrainTrust
Ken Morris
Managing Partner Cambridge Retail Advisors
Richard Hernandez
Merchant Director
This is an interesting concept. It seems to fill a need for social interaction and community that we often hear is lacking from stores. It also provides a third-space for people to work from, which fills another need as people now work more from home. As for concepts like the in-store bar, these should be attractive. A few our our Fry’s (Kroger banner) stores in Arizona have integrated bars and they always seem to be quite popular, especially among an older demographic.
Conceptually, I like the idea. The ‘Grocerant’ concept has been gaining traction and interest according to our research. However, I’ve also seen the opposite occur. At my Whole Foods, they removed the entire coffee and beer bar a few years back, which I can only imagine because the revenue didn’t justify the cost. I see this concept working better in environments that have fewer choices for entertainment and dining. I wish them success!
At our Whole Foods, the coffee bar was removed with the pandemic. Today there is a large sign at the entrance telling all “The Coffee Bar is Open”.
Go out, have a few drinks, pick up some groceries, drive home buzzed. This model has been tried for years and failed. Shoppers are not looking for community.
Take me to FreshTake now! This has all the elements of engaging grocery shopping, sampling, family entertainment, etc., you would want in what can only be called a destination marketplace. I can’t imagine this concept failing, as retail is theater. I wish they would open in my town.
People love to be entertained, and this place will be all about that. It has something for almost everyone, though it may need childcare added to the mix.
You’d expect premium pricing, but in this case, it might be justified. If shopping malls had gotten even half as inventive about drawing people in and giving them reasons to stay, maybe there wouldn’t be so many empty ones today. I think FreshTake’s unique challenge might be in getting customers to leave.
It is far better to let people shop while they may be hungry than to feed them first and leave the groceries for the way home. I like the idea of leveraging community spaces but only if they incent purchase, like BBQ quick class and sell the ingredients or cake decorating that you can take home. I am not a fan of makeing grocery stores into food courts.
They will make more money on the bar and cafe than they will make on the groceries.
Well, people linger at Starbucks, so why not FreshTake? Sports on TV never hurts, and one of the most popular “watering holes” here in Cary, NC is a wine and beer store with NO TV’s…when they first put the bar in I was hugely skeptical, however it is probably the biggest profit contributor to the store! Shows what I know….
I do think the concept will take a while for full adoption, and they may need to tweak a thing or two. With patience I believe this will be successful.
The description sounds like Wegman’s on steroids. That is a positive comment. It is a small town Main Street, all rolled into one place. FreshTake would be my go-to grocery store and, frankly, much more.
There is nothing in theb description that I don’t like. Other than the putting green, I see myself participating in every aspect, even buying groceries. Given the choice of going to a more traditional name supermarket and FreshTake, there is no second place after FreshTake.
This concept is EXACTLY what supermarket retailers should consider as a way to differentiate and provide a unique experience. Every grocery retailer can sell a can of peas, but to really focus on an experience for shoppers brings things to a new level. Not sure how anyone could rate this an F!
It is all about finding the right levers to pull to find the profitability for the store.
Wegmans, HEB, Hy-Vee , etc. have found the right combination to be successful and build multiple locations.
I suspect this should be successful as well.
I struggle to visualize what “successful” means in this case; no, not in a technical sense – their revenues > expenses – but what it’s trying to accomplish. We’ve seen lots of add-ons to grocery stores – coffee shops and pup counters and play-areas – but they were still a complement to the basic idea of grocery shopping; here it seems like the complements are all day – or at least multi-hour – activities having little to do with shopping. I’m not sure I see a lot of interaction here.
Love this concept. It pushes boundaries on what we know about grocery store shopping as a task every week. Post-pandemic, people are increasingly look for avenues to have fun, like indoor pickle ball courts with food, bars and lounging. I hope this new idea works for them.
One thing to watch for in this equation is rent efficiency costs. A typical grocery store will maximize every square foot of these costs, whereas entertainment requires more lounge and play space. Each of these entertainment areas must also pay their portion of the rent.