New Format QFC To Open In Gig Harbor

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Re: New Format QFC To Open In Gig Harbor

Post by VibeGuy »

How about a video tour?

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Re: New Format QFC To Open In Gig Harbor

Post by klkla »

Looks interesting. Seems very Whole Foods-esque. I like the design and feel of the store.

Big corporations don't have a good track record trying to be entrepreneurial so hopefully they are able to pull this off.
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Re: New Format QFC To Open In Gig Harbor

Post by pseudo3d »

For a Kroger-owned concept, it looks really nice. And a salad bar that's not self-serve is a plus (to me). I honestly don't see it expanding, though. Usually, these types of chains will create a "flagship" store and then integrate parts they like into the rest of the chain while the original supermarket will eventually get homogenized even if it retains its distinct name (best case scenario, worst case scenario is the nice stuff disappears and nothing changes).

Changes for the Better:
H-E-B Marketplace (San Antonio, TX) - Early 1990s H-E-B that had a huge footprint with a focus on fresh foods. Experiment extended to Central Market and nicer stores to this day, store still retains Marketplace signage.
Market Bistro by Price Chopper (Latham, NY) - Led company to integrate elements into new and remodeled stores (called "Market 32").

Changes with No Effect:
Kroger (Atlanta, GA) - 1993 store with bulk packaging, food court, dry cleaning, etc. (among others). Instead lost most of those things and slinked toward closure until a renovation revitalized it.
Fiesta (Houston, TX) - 1989 store with hydroponics gardens, which were rumored to be added to other new stores if it did well, as well as pushing toward suburbs instead of its original Hispanic base. Only lasted a few years before the money-losing store had the plug pulled. The company never built large, suburban stores again, only trying about 25 years later with a small store in the suburbs (which failed after a year)
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Re: New Format QFC To Open In Gig Harbor

Post by storewanderer »

QFC is pretty different from the rest of Kroger and the Seattle market has a lot to offer and people there really appreciate fresh product so I think this has a shot. I am not confident that certain other Kroger Divisions could execute this type of format as well as QFC, though. QFC has excellent execution of fresh departments and a number of pretty nice stores around Seattle with excellent fresh operations.

QFC also operates a lot of pretty small stores due to the real estate issues there is not really a good way to expand or relocate and this sort of format can probably get them more margin and happier customers in those small stores.

I've seen non-self serve salad bars in some Smiths Marketplace locations.

I cannot reiterate enough that the quality of the fresh product sold in QFC (and also Fred Meyer) is far, far above the quality of fresh product sold at Kroger in Texas. You would need to go to these stores and buy/taste some of the items to understand. Some of the same marginal stuff is there but it is the minority and it is not promoted very heavily. There is a higher standard for fresh food in OR/WA.
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Re: New Format QFC To Open In Gig Harbor

Post by VibeGuy »

Yeah, among the conventional chains, QFC's deli salads, for example, are vastly better than any of the others, on a par with Metropolitan Market and Whole Foods. Safeway and Albertsons can't even come close. And they do nail meat - they have good service and wrapped programs including natural pork.

I don't think QFCs bakery program is objectively good - a lot of Schwarz Bros and Original Cakerie - not that anyone here has a good in-store program - it's just sort of meh on meh.

Frankly, QFC produce was better before it came into the FM/Kroger disti system. I'm guessing they were a Charlies or Husky customer?
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Re: New Format QFC To Open In Gig Harbor

Post by storewanderer »

I think high pricing hurts produce turnover at QFC and impacts quality adversely in some of their locations. I usually bought sale produce and was always happy with it though.

Bakery at QFC was a bit of a strange one with all those prepackaged items. Some of the Schwartz Items and OGCK items are pretty good but they are available at other places too. I thought QFC had some better cakes than I've seen in other Kroger divisions though. Fred Meyer Bakery has a far better quality service bakery program than I've seen in other Kroger divisions; the product quality is miles ahead and a lot of it is store prepared. The quality of some other basic items like cinnamon rolls both the roll itself and the frosting (also used for the colossal coffee cakes) at Fred Meyer is also infinitely better than the garbage other Kroger divisions (Albertsons uses the same garbage) use for cinnamon rolls. Also QFC/Fred Meyer tilt more toward having Maple Leaf as their bakeoff bread provider and that is a lot better quality bread than the other Kroger divisions are baking off which is really awful quality stuff. Not sure who makes it but it is terrible. Bakery is an area where Kroger really needs to go through and taste what they are selling and highlight the good items (all of the Private Selection bakery items are great) and get rid of the bad ones like many of the breads, the basic "traditional" cookies, the terrible donuts, the terrible muffins, and the cakes made with "non dairy whipped topping." I think both Albertsons and Safeway have better quality and better priced bakery programs than most of Kroger. Fred Meyer is the only one who even comes close and I am not sure they are really up to par.
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Re: New Format QFC To Open In Gig Harbor

Post by pseudo3d »

storewanderer wrote:QFC is pretty different from the rest of Kroger and the Seattle market has a lot to offer and people there really appreciate fresh product so I think this has a shot. I am not confident that certain other Kroger Divisions could execute this type of format as well as QFC, though. QFC has excellent execution of fresh departments and a number of pretty nice stores around Seattle with excellent fresh operations.
I didn't say the store would fail, not in the least. I just believed that as the full "Main & Vine" concept would not see another location though the individual concepts would shape at least the rest of the QFC division.
storewanderer wrote:Fred Meyer Bakery has a far better quality service bakery program than I've seen in other Kroger divisions; the product quality is miles ahead and a lot of it is store prepared. The quality of some other basic items like cinnamon rolls both the roll itself and the frosting (also used for the colossal coffee cakes) at Fred Meyer is also infinitely better than the garbage other Kroger divisions (Albertsons uses the same garbage) use for cinnamon rolls. Also QFC/Fred Meyer tilt more toward having Maple Leaf as their bakeoff bread provider and that is a lot better quality bread than the other Kroger divisions are baking off which is really awful quality stuff. Not sure who makes it but it is terrible. Bakery is an area where Kroger really needs to go through and taste what they are selling and highlight the good items (all of the Private Selection bakery items are great) and get rid of the bad ones like many of the breads, the basic "traditional" cookies, the terrible donuts, the terrible muffins, and the cakes made with "non dairy whipped topping." I think both Albertsons and Safeway have better quality and better priced bakery programs than most of Kroger. Fred Meyer is the only one who even comes close and I am not sure they are really up to par.
Oh, definitely. The terrible quality of the bakery department in the SW division is one of the things that really shaped my dislike toward Kroger as a whole. The breads aren't great, the apple fritter I bought once was inedible (Safeway's apple fritter was miles better and a dime cheaper), and a donut I bought once in a DIFFERENT store gave me....well, let's just say it was fast acting. (I eat all sorts of junk: greasy pizza nearly every day in college for at least a semester, Jack in the Box before job interviews, and gas station tacos...and I NEVER usually have a problem with them).
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Re: New Format QFC To Open In Gig Harbor

Post by arizonaguy »

pseudo3d wrote:
storewanderer wrote:QFC is pretty different from the rest of Kroger and the Seattle market has a lot to offer and people there really appreciate fresh product so I think this has a shot. I am not confident that certain other Kroger Divisions could execute this type of format as well as QFC, though. QFC has excellent execution of fresh departments and a number of pretty nice stores around Seattle with excellent fresh operations.
I didn't say the store would fail, not in the least. I just believed that as the full "Main & Vine" concept would not see another location though the individual concepts would shape at least the rest of the QFC division.
storewanderer wrote:Fred Meyer Bakery has a far better quality service bakery program than I've seen in other Kroger divisions; the product quality is miles ahead and a lot of it is store prepared. The quality of some other basic items like cinnamon rolls both the roll itself and the frosting (also used for the colossal coffee cakes) at Fred Meyer is also infinitely better than the garbage other Kroger divisions (Albertsons uses the same garbage) use for cinnamon rolls. Also QFC/Fred Meyer tilt more toward having Maple Leaf as their bakeoff bread provider and that is a lot better quality bread than the other Kroger divisions are baking off which is really awful quality stuff. Not sure who makes it but it is terrible. Bakery is an area where Kroger really needs to go through and taste what they are selling and highlight the good items (all of the Private Selection bakery items are great) and get rid of the bad ones like many of the breads, the basic "traditional" cookies, the terrible donuts, the terrible muffins, and the cakes made with "non dairy whipped topping." I think both Albertsons and Safeway have better quality and better priced bakery programs than most of Kroger. Fred Meyer is the only one who even comes close and I am not sure they are really up to par.
Oh, definitely. The terrible quality of the bakery department in the SW division is one of the things that really shaped my dislike toward Kroger as a whole. The breads aren't great, the apple fritter I bought once was inedible (Safeway's apple fritter was miles better and a dime cheaper), and a donut I bought once in a DIFFERENT store gave me....well, let's just say it was fast acting. (I eat all sorts of junk: greasy pizza nearly every day in college for at least a semester, Jack in the Box before job interviews, and gas station tacos...and I NEVER usually have a problem with them).
I don't necessarily disagree with you. In the late 2000s (2006 - 2010), Kroger was really big on opening "Fry's Signature" stores around Arizona that were based on the Ralph's Fresh Fare concept. The built 3 new build stores and converted 3 existing stores to the concept (including the Fry's Signature Marketplace). This was also around the same time that they converted 1 store to Fry's Mercado (a Hispanic themed store). I believe both "concepts" only were rolled out to a maximum of 7 stores. Subsequent new build stores and remodels received a "watered down" version of elements of these Signature stores but not the entire package.

Speaking of Fry's, they've rolled out La Brea Bakery bread to their "top tier" stores. The "top tier" stores are the ones that are also on the Boar's Head deli program.
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Re: New Format QFC To Open In Gig Harbor

Post by SamSpade »

marshd1000 wrote:But I thought it was interesting that they were just building an new "Marketplace" Fred Meyer. But if you go inside the current Fred Meyer Marketplace, they actually brand it as a Fred Meyer Northwest Best, which is a Fred Meyer version of a QFC Fresh Fare. I have been in the Fred Meyer Northwest Best store on Burnside in Portland. It really looks similar to a QFC Fresh Fare. . . . But getting back to Gig Harbor, the current Fred Meyer Markeplace/Northwest Best is not as upscale looking as the one in Portland. . . But the product mix at a Fred Meyer Northwest Best is similar to a QFC. So I am sure that for those who want a more QFC type of product mix, the Fred Meyer Northwest Best will fit the bill.
1. The shopping center took a long time to pull off and is still a few years away. The Fred Meyer will be 64,000 sf which is pretty small for one of their stores. Maybe its marketplace assortment will include a small apparel or home section, but it sounds like it will be mostly grocery with a fuel center to help drive traffic. The original store was supposed to be 100,000 sf but the developer couldn't get a larger store through the city of Gig Harbor / neighborhood opposition.Gig Harbor Fred Meyer project moving forward Neigbhorhood concerns since 2011 slow development

2.The 'Northwest Best' trademark was filed for in 2002 and implemented in the much needed remodel and update to Stadium Fred Meyer as well as one store in Redmond adjacent to the Microsoft campus and the Gig Harbor Marketplace being discussed in this thread. The decor at Stadium looked like the Fry's Signature / some QFC locations / Ralph's Fresh Fare and a news article at the time reported that the store would be carrying a more up-market product mix to better compete against Zupan's and the the new to neighborhood Trader Joe's. These included a staffed olive bar / cheese island (now Murray's in new store), freshly prepared sushi (now a "train" style sushi by the plate), two wine stewards, something about cigars in news reports when the store opened. Found: Media Report in 2002

As someone who lived in that neighborhood in 2006 and again in 2010-present, I can say that originally the store was carrying more desserts from local high-end bakeries like Papa Hayden and JaCiva's and delivered breads from Grand Central, Marsee, Portland French Bakery but eventually pulled back on some of those as someone improved the in-store bakery offerings (ie. La Brea for bread, in-store prepared fruit tarts, Nanaimo bars, oat bars, etc.). The new store actually has a lot of these again in the newly expanded perimeter in the new building, as does 'Hollywood' Fred Meyer and 'Burlingame.' Most further out stores only have the in-store offerings. The deli has always carried Boar's Head, which has slowly spread to other Fred Meyer stores.

3. Point two reinforces what one commenter posted that a division learns things then utilizes some of them elsewhere but not all of them or the nameplate. For example, elements of the decor package, bakery, deli and wine departments can all be found at other mid 2000's build out or remodeled Fred Meyer stores. I think that "Northwest Best" was quietly pulled back, too, but never actually announced as done. Since it was already inside an established brand, the store could change gradually, rather than if Main & Vine becomes QFC again, it will be a little different - similar to when Starbucks (also Seattle based) closed the 15th Avenue Coffeehouse and reopened it as a traditional Starbucks.

When I visited the Redmond "Northwest Best" Fred Meyer between 2008-2010, other than it being across from Larry's Market (a now defunct, upscale Seattle-area market chain), it looked like any other northwest Fred Meyer. It did have those department pillars with the wood accents on top so maybe that is where that change came to almost all Fred Meyer stores as well as the tan walls with red lettering. I believe the "Northwest Best" had even been covered up on the awnings over service departments.

When visiting the Gig Harbor "Northwest Best" store, I couldn't see any difference from any other Fred Meyer grocery only store (basically Stadium) except awnings above service departments with that name.
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Re: New Format QFC To Open In Gig Harbor

Post by VibeGuy »

So tonight is a friends-and-family invitation event.

Notable features:

beer and wine bar has growler fills and by-the-glass from good local producers - wines are dispensed by the Enomatic system which ensures freshness.

Produce pricing is extremely competitive - quality is as good as WFM or Metropolitan and it takes up a very prominent center position. Service meat and fish is about the same size as before, but there is a frozen sauté-and-serve seafood bar that looks terrific.

In-house roasted meats and veggies were really good. Bakery program is better than average.

Pricing is very aggressive. They are out to make a point.
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