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Mrs. Greenʼs Natural Market has officially acquired seven Super Fresh grocery locations in Maryland and one Super Fresh location in Washington from the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. Following all necessary approvals, Scarsdale, N.Y.-based Mrs. Green’s will renovate the locations and expand product and service offerings to include better-for-you prepared meals and a larger assortment of natural, local and organic foods.

“This investment is part of a strategy to grow our concept in under-served regions,” says Matt Williams, CEO of Mrs. Green’s parent company, Toronto-based Natural Market Restaurants Corp. (NMRC). “We have been exploring several options in Maryland and Washington, D.C., and this acquisition is a tremendous first step in providing consumers with healthy, natural and affordable food choices.”

NMRC operates several natural food retail and restaurant banners in United States and Canada, among them Planet Organic north of the border, 11 Mrs. Greenʼs markets in the northeastern United States and a soon-to-be-opened 30,000-square-foot flagship restaurant/natural food store in the Chicago area. “We believe the American consumer wants greater access to natural and fresh healthy foods in their everyday grocery store, and we continue to explore further investment opportunities to meet this demand,” adds Williams.

The company’s current focus is on ensuring a smooth transition for employees, customers, suppliers and all other stakeholders, according to NMRC.

Last month, Montvale, N.J.-based A&P revealed that it had auctioned off 12 Super Fresh stores, including 10 in Maryland and Washington to a joint venture between Mrs. Green's Management Corp. and Village Super Markets, the latter of which operates stores under the ShopRite banner. At that time, Keasbey, N.J.-based retail cooperative Wakefern Food Corp., whose members operate stores under the ShopRite banner, said that two of the 10 stores would become ShopRite locations.

Source: Progressive Grocer