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GOURMET NEWS OCTOBER 2018 www.gourmetnews.com Retailer News RETAILER NEWS 1 2 BRIEFS Kroger to Phase Out Single-Use Plastic Bags by 2025 The Kroger Co. has announced plans to phase out single-use plastic bags and transition to reusable bags across its family of stores by 2025. Seattle-based QFC will be the company's first retail division to phase out single-use plastic bags. The company expects QFC's transition to be completed in 2019. Natural Grocers Opens Georgetown, Texas Store Natural Grocers opened a store in Georgetown, Texas, on Wednesday, September 5, providing the community with access to the highest- quality organic and natural groceries at Always Affordable SM prices. Kroger and Nuro Announce Pilot The Kroger Co. and Nuro announced Scottsdale, Arizona as the city for their self-driving grocery delivery pilot. Earlier this summer, Kroger, America's largest supermarket retailer, and Nuro, maker of the world's first driverless delivery vehicle, announced a partnership to begin testing grocery delivery using Nuro's robots. Through the new self-driving delivery vehicles, customers will receive their groceries at their curb – safely and quickly. Nuro will begin the pilot using its self-driving Toyota Prius fleet and will introduce its custom R1 driverless vehicle this fall. Safeway.com Grocery Home Delivery Drivers Ratify Teamster Contract After nearly a year of negotiations that led to a strike authorization vote, a group of 90 grocery home delivery drivers working for Safeway.com in Tukwila, Washington, voted overwhelmingly to ratify their first-ever Teamster contract. These drivers, of whom 60 are Local 174 members and 30 are Local 313 members, are now full-fledged Teamsters for the first time in their careers as Safeway drivers. Wages will increase across the board, with some of the lowest-paid drivers seeing double-digit percentage increases. The group will also finally receive affordable health care, which most did not previously have access to, and the drivers will be joining the Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Plan. The Fresh Market, Inc. Appoints Oded Shein as Chief Financial Officer The Fresh Market, Inc. has appointed Oded Shein as Chief Financial Officer. Shein brings more than 25 years of financial experience from a variety of retail stores, including serving as executive vice president and chief financial officer at Houston, Texas-based Stage Stores. In addition, he has held senior financial leadership positions at Belk, Inc. in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Charming Shoppes, Inc. in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. Meijer Tests Specialty Concept with New Store Big-box grocery retailer Meijer is launching into the specialty marketplace with the Au- gust 29 grand opening of its Bridge Street Market in the West Side neighborhood of Grand Rapids, Michigan. The 37,000- square-foot store will test the concept for a small-format market focused on fresh food and artisan and local groceries in a store de- signed to reflect and to blend into its urban neighborhood. "Bridge Street Market is unique – unique to the region and unique to Meijer, and we are excited to finally share it with the com- munity," said Store Manager Ken Bair. "We listened diligently and soaked up the West Side's heritage and believe that Bridge Street Market will more than deliver." The market will offer a full assortment of fresh and prepared foods, including bakery items, fresh meat and deli offerings, along with an estimated 2,000 local, artisan gro- ceries and Meijer and national brand prod- ucts. Mayan Buzz Cafe coffee shop will also be in the store along with an expansive beer, wine and liquor counter and basic cleaning, health and beauty care products. Bridge Street Market will feature open air elements and a pedestrian-friendly design, with 22-foot ceilings and three garage-style doors that open onto the sidewalk along Bridge Street. It will anchor a mixed-use development spanning a city block. Neigh- bors include The Hendrik apartments and an office and retail building. "Meijer is thrilled to open Bridge Street Market as part of this exciting development on the city's West Side," said Meijer Presi- dent and CEO Rick Keyes. "We believe there's no better place to launch this new neighborhood market than in our home- town, and in the heart of such an inspiring part of our city." GN Jarlsberg Cheese Stars at NYC Pop-Up Event Jarlsberg ® Cheese,debuted its first-ever Jarlsberg Pop-Up Store on September 22 at popular Swedish candy store, Sockerbit, lo- cated in the West Village, New York. The event rugns through October 7. Jarlsberg's roots go back to 1956, when the original recipe was developed in Nor- way. The cheese is now known around the world its nutty, mild flavor and large holes. As one of Norway's most iconic brands, the company connected with Sockerbit's Scan- dinavian style – "Sweet & Swedish" meets "Nutty & Norwegian" became a natural, fun fit! With high-end cheese wares pro- vided by BOSKA Holland, this Nordic trio came together to create a memorable retail experience. "We are thrilled to be debuting our first ever Jarlsberg pop up store In NYC," says Valerie Liu, Marketing Manager for Jarls- berg. "Some of life's best moments revolve around enjoying food with family and friends – and we can't wait to share amaz- ing cheeseplates and pairing concepts to in- spire your next special occasion." "One of the few things we love just as much as sweets is cheese, and especially Scandinavian cheeses. This is a great op- portunity to experience the best of both worlds," says Steffan Ernberg, co-Owner of Sockerbit. The Jarlsberg Pop-Up Store offers its guest the opportu- nity to enjoy samples and pairing advice at the tasting table and inspi- ration for creating cheeseboards along with the chance to pur- chase Jarlsberg cut fresh from the 22- pound wheel. Shoppers who bought Jarlsberg cheese at the pop-up re- ceived a BOSKA Holland mini cheese planer as a free gift. The tasting table features ideas from Marissa Mullen, Brooklyn-based food blog- ger and stylist at "That Cheese Plate. She built two cheese plates on September 29 that were then offered to visitors to sample. Chef George Duran also visited and shared his favorite Jarlsberg pairings and provided tips on making special occasions even more memorable. The pop-up shop featured interactive areas in which visitors could take photos and had a hashtag printer on- site so that visitors could take home printed memories. Visitors who posted to social media using the hashtag for the event got a Socker- bit treat. Jarlsberg turned to New York City based Lionesque Group to bring this experience to life. "From an interactive cityscape ex- perience to educational ele- ments, guests will be transported from the streets of NYC into the color coded world of Jarlsberg cheese," said Melissa Gonzalez, CEO of The Lionesque Group. "There are so many reasons to come visit the Jarlsberg Pop Up, but you only need to pick one — so come experience the world of Jarlsberg for yourself!" GN

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