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ShopRite held grand opening celebrations for its two newest stores, the ShopRite of Timonium, Md., and the ShopRite of White Oak in Silver Spring, Md., on July 31.

The locations were formerly Superfresh stores owned by Montvale, N.J.-based A&P, which auctioned them off in late May, along with 10 other supermarkets under that banner in Maryland and the Washington, D.C., area. The Sumas family is the owner of the Springfield, N.J.-based Village Super Market Inc., which operates these locations and 26 other ShopRite stores in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

The Timonium store is 57,000 square feet, while the ShopRite of White Oak measures 65,000 square feet. Both locations such features as freshly prepared grab-and-go meals, including hot entrees and side dishes, soups, brick-oven pizza, a Mediterranean olive bar, and a grain and salad bar for dining in or taking out, in addition to fresh-made sushi and daily “hot-off-the grill” specials. Customers at either store can visit eat-in lounges to enjoy their food or sip coffee from the Avenue Bean coffee bar.

Further, an on-site dietitian will be in residence at both stores on a daily basis for free customer consultations. The dietitian will also educate customers on such issues as shopping for healthy meals, proper nutrition for particular medical conditions, and how to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into one’s diet, as well as offering monthly health-related events in-store and in the community.

Shortly after opening day, the stores will roll out the “ShopRite From Home” service, which enables customers to place online orders from their home computers and schedule a convenient time to pick up their groceries at their nearest store. Also coming soon is “ShopRite’s Culinary Workshop,” a hands-on cooking program taught by a team of professional chefs, who share their skills and knowledge in weekly sessions held in an in-store gourmet kitchen.

“At Village Super Market, we believe in helping families live better, and we look forward to serving these communities and all the families who live here,” said Bill Sumas, vice chairman of Village Super Market, a family-owned business begun in 1937 and now run by four generations of Sumases. “My family is pleased to be bringing quality products, excellent customer service and the everyday low prices that ShopRite customers have come to appreciate. Families serving families -- that’s what ShopRite and Village Super Market are known for.”

ShopRite is the registered trademark of Wakefern Food Corp., a retailer-owned cooperative based in Keasbey, N.J., and the largest supermarket cooperative in the United States. With more than 230 ShopRite supermarkets in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware and Maryland, the banner serves more than 5 million customers each week.

Source: Progressive Grocer