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National grocery chains try going small in New York City

Téa Kvetenadze, New York Daily News on

Published in Business News

Whole Foods has committed to launching five Market Shops in New York, with an initial Upper East Side outlet expected to open later this year in Manhattan. A spokesperson for Trader Joe’s said the company has no plans to open other Pronto branches elsewhere.

Pronto shoppers, many grabbing a bite during a recent lunch hour rush, had mixed reviews.

One of those was David Delizio, 30, a technical accountant who lives in New Jersey and emerged from the store brandishing a can of La Colombe coffee as an afternoon pick-me-up.

“It’s super convenient because they really tailored their product to the people in the area,” said Delizio, who said he has shopped there several times since it opened.

“People come in, they just want a quick snack,” he said. “They don’t want to drop like 20 bucks on something. It’s quick.”

 

But property manager Candice Aqui, 42, left frustrated, carrying bags with only some of what she needed.

“I just wasted five minutes because I thought they had avocados,” said the Brooklynite, who headed down the block to the bigger Trader Joe’s to get the rest of her groceries.

While the trend is still in its early days, Plasky said other national grocery chains may be considering the smaller format in the city.

“It wouldn’t shock me if there were other brands that kind of ran the same playbook,” he said. “That question is, does it work? Can you make enough money doing what you do in those spaces? I guess you can, because other guys have been doing it for 100 years.”


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