Downtown Scottsdale Fry's to become a Whole Foods

[arizonaguy]

The Downtown Scottsdale, AZ Fry's, which is stuck in a Kroger décor package from 15 - 20 years ago, is set to close and become a Whole Foods.

The store is closing on May 31.

https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/new ... foods.html

https://media.bizj.us/view/img/12742590/frys-sign.jpg

There is a Safeway 1 mile north of this store that I'd imagine would be one of the Albertsons/Safeway stores not sold to C&S if the merger were go through. An Albertsons is also 1.25 miles southwest of this store.

[SamSpade]

Looks like it got the pretty Ralph's wall decor from around 15 years ago but at the time they did nothing to change/improve lighting or flooring.


So, it's probably a cost/benefit analysis and if WFM was interested, I assume that means lease negotiations were tough.

Bashas' is right there as well.

[rwsandiego]

The last time I was in the store (2017 or 2018) the decor looked nice, but like a lot of Fry's stores it felt old and worn out.

Whole Foods will do well there. The closest one is ~8 miles away at 20th and Camelback and the next one is up at Mayo Blvd and Scottsdale Rd. (~15 miles away).

There's also a Sprouts about a half mile north, but if anything I see WFM diverting business from that (kinda crappy) store.

[storewanderer]

The last time I was in the store (2017 or 2018) the decor looked nice, but like a lot of Fry's stores it felt old and worn out.

Whole Foods will do well there. The closest one is ~8 miles away at 20th and Camelback and the next one is up at Mayo Blvd and Scottsdale Rd. (~15 miles away).

There's also a Sprouts about a half mile north, but if anything I see WFM diverting business from that (kinda crappy) store.

The reality is the Safeway nearby is a nicer, larger store. It is also outdated with various maintenance issues unless it has been remodeled very recently, but was in better condition than the Frys.

There is also still an open Bashas very close to this closing Frys. The fact that this Bashas is still open probably tells everyone everything they need to know about what a poor Frys this was..

The Albertsons is a very outdated store also and got a very cheap remodel into the Florida decor.

I think Whole Foods will cause problems for the Safeway. The Bashas will benefit from the Frys closure the most but I don't think Whole Foods will impact them much. Overall this is a win for Bashas. Might be a good opportunity to convert a store to the Raleys type of merchandising and see if it flies.

[arizonaguy]

The last time I was in the store (2017 or 2018) the decor looked nice, but like a lot of Fry's stores it felt old and worn out.

Whole Foods will do well there. The closest one is ~8 miles away at 20th and Camelback and the next one is up at Mayo Blvd and Scottsdale Rd. (~15 miles away).

There's also a Sprouts about a half mile north, but if anything I see WFM diverting business from that (kinda crappy) store.

The reality is the Safeway nearby is a nicer, larger store. It is also outdated with various maintenance issues unless it has been remodeled very recently, but was in better condition than the Frys.

There is also still an open Bashas very close to this closing Frys. The fact that this Bashas is still open probably tells everyone everything they need to know about what a poor Frys this was..

The Albertsons is a very outdated store also and got a very cheap remodel into the Florida decor.

I think Whole Foods will cause problems for the Safeway. The Bashas will benefit from the Frys closure the most but I don't think Whole Foods will impact them much. Overall this is a win for Bashas. Might be a good opportunity to convert a store to the Raleys type of merchandising and see if it flies.

The Safeway has been remodeled into the Florida decor within the past 6 - 9 months and, unlike the Albertsons, the renovations were fairly extensive. If I were to bet money, if the merger goes through, it would be one of the 34 stores retained by Kroger and not sold to C&S.

There is a much nicer Fry's about 2 miles south of this store.

What's interesting here is that Fry's (and/or the landlord) tried to develop this store into a mixed use project with a supermarket on the lower level and apartments on top about 10 or so years ago (which is why the store has such an outdated décor package). The store was supposed to be demolished and then rebuilt with apartments on top. Apparently the height of the project is what killed it. The rest of the shopping center, except for the Fry's, was updated around that time.

[rwsandiego]

The Phoenix Business Journal ran a story about the closure. This quote from the owner of the shopping center says everything you need to know about this and 75% of the other Fry's stores in Phoenix that were built longer than five-ish years ago:

"Discussions already in motion to recruit Whole Foods
Jakosky Properties has owned the Scottsdale shopping center, which it calls Downtown East Shopping Center, for the past 22 years. Talks of bringing Whole Foods to the Downtown East go back years.

'It's tired, [the store] needs an extensive renovation and [after] 15 years and seven corporate guys — none of which have any vision and can't see what's going on in the area — I elected to go in a different direction," Jakosky said of the current Fry's store. "My first discussions with [Whole Foods] probably go back to 2019.' "

The story mentions Fry's lease ends in July.

The Fry's on McDowell Rd (a couple of miles south) is nicer, but that's not saying much unless it was renovated within the last year or so. Like most Fry's stores, it feels tired.

I'll have to check out the Safeway at Chapparral and Hayden (or is it Miller?) next time I need a break from the urban-ness of my local Safeways. Don't get me wrong, I like the stores, but dealing with some of the "interesting" customers gets old. Can't imagine how the employees feel!

It will be nice to have a WFM in downtown Scottsdale. I'm dismayed that they are only using 35K of the 50K square feet. The area could support a larger store. Maybe not as large as the one at Mayo and Scottsdale, but larger than 35K.

EDIT: Clarified my remark about Fry's store fleet. New stores are fine, non-new stores are pretty sad.

[ClownLoach]

It will be nice to have a WFM in downtown Scottsdale. I'm dismayed that they are only using 35K of the 50K square feet. The area could support a larger store. Maybe not as large as the one at Mayo and Scottsdale, but larger than 35K.

There won't be anything wrong with the 35K. Amazon has cut so much SKU depth that the larger stores just feel like empty shells. They actually pack a lot into the 35K, they have a slightly smaller box in Santa Barbara that was remodeled a few years ago with a slight expansion and it's packed to the gills. Different fixtures help, for example fine cheese department goes from island fixtures to wall fixtures to reduce floor space. I think WFM will never build a store over 40K again.

[storewanderer]

The Phoenix Business Journal ran a story about the closure. This quote from the owner of the shopping center says everything you need to know about this and 75% of the other Fry's stores in Phoenix that were built longer than five-ish years ago:

"Discussions already in motion to recruit Whole Foods
Jakosky Properties has owned the Scottsdale shopping center, which it calls Downtown East Shopping Center, for the past 22 years. Talks of bringing Whole Foods to the Downtown East go back years.

'It's tired, [the store] needs an extensive renovation and [after] 15 years and seven corporate guys — none of which have any vision and can't see what's going on in the area — I elected to go in a different direction," Jakosky said of the current Fry's store. "My first discussions with [Whole Foods] probably go back to 2019.' "

The story mentions Fry's lease ends in July.

The Fry's on McDowell Rd (a couple of miles south) is nicer, but that's not saying much unless it was renovated within the last year or so. Like most Fry's stores, it feels tired.

I'll have to check out the Safeway at Chapparral and Hayden (or is it Miller?) next time I need a break from the urban-ness of my local Safeways. Don't get me wrong, I like the stores, but dealing with some of the "interesting" customers gets old. Can't imagine how the employees feel!

It will be nice to have a WFM in downtown Scottsdale. I'm dismayed that they are only using 35K of the 50K square feet. The area could support a larger store. Maybe not as large as the one at Mayo and Scottsdale, but larger than 35K.

EDIT: Clarified my remark about Fry's store fleet. New stores are fine, non-new stores are pretty sad.

It appears Fry's was just riding this store along and refusing to invest any money in the place. Running the building into the ground doesn't do the landlord any favors. It makes sense to re-tenant it to a new tenant who is going to do serious upgrades to the building, and also throw an extra 15k sq ft out there to lease to someone else (who will make their own improvements). This store has no fuel station and is on the small side for Kroger so I can see why they neglected it and why they are closing it.

Given the landlord has been trying to get Whole Foods for 5 years, this wasn't a sudden decision.

[rwsandiego]

Fry's fuel has a location roughly halfway between this store and the one on McDowell and Hayden Rds, FWIW.

[jamcool]

A lot of Fry’s stores seem to be dumpier nowadays….dirty floors, out-of-stock during weekends, more disheveled looking. Meanwhile the Safeways where I live are brighter and cleaner looking- produce department looks good, bakery looks tempting, deli well stocked.