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Retailer News BRIEFS GOURMET NEWS OCTOBER 2019 www.gourmetnews.com RETAILER NEWS 8 Expanded Local Offerings Enhance Oakville Grocery Oakville Grocery, a northern California general store that has been a gathering place for locals and tourists for nearly 140 years, has been enhanced since joining the Boisset Collec- tion in Janu- ary. Visitors to both Oakville and Healds- burg will now find an em- phasis on local s u s t a i n a b l e , organic and b i o d y n a m i c food offerings as well as an expanded wine selection that includes exclusive, highly allocated wines by the taste, glass or bottle. These new items, as well as the grocery's signature fa- vorites, can now be enjoyed on renovated patios during extended summer hours. "We are so excited to bring new life into community landmarks in Napa Valley and Sonoma County," said Jean-Charles Boisset, Proprietor of Boisset Collection. "Oakville Grocery is a phenomenal destination where guests can spend a relaxing afternoon try- ing a selection of amazing wines; fresh, healthy and local cuisine; and fabulous craft beers!" The historical legacy of the Oakville des- tination has been made more prominent through extensive signage throughout the property that tell the story of its founding role in Napa Valley. In addition, the prop- erty next door — 1881 Napa Wine History Museum & Tasting Salon — features tast- ings of wines from 13 sub-appellations of Napa Valley as well as an archive of wine relics open for complimentary visitation and has published its own history of the re- gion. A unique feature of both Oakville Gro- cery locations is that guests can taste some of the most sought-after wines from rotat- ing producers that have included Opus One, Screaming Eagle and Kosta Browne by purchasing cards and using them in Napa Technology dispensers. "Normally wine lovers have to wait on allocation lists for years to purchase these bottles," said Ed Maass, Oakville Grocery Wine Program Manager. "We are thrilled that we can make these beautiful wines more accessible and offer them by the taste and glass at Oakville Grocery, and through our Oakville Wine Society." Throughout each store, the wine selec- tions have been significantly expanded and diversified as well as organized by appella- tion. In the Oakville location guests can discover wines from nearly 300 Napa Val- ley vintners and in Healdsburg they can browse through an equally large selection of Sonoma County producers. The flagship location in Napa Valley also has two new spaces dedicated to wine: a "cave" where guests can sample the highest-end wines from the Napa Tech machines as well as a wine vault that guests can enter and make selections from, as if they're perusing their own wine cellar at home. A wine vault is also planned for the Healdsburg loca- tion, which has a re- vamped and upgraded main floor wine section. The robust and diverse wine offerings are now available through a unique wine club. The Oakville Grocery Wine Society offers wine enthusiasts the opportunity to con- tinue their journey through the wine coun- try of Napa Valley through quarterly shipments of wines, many of which are small lot and hard to find. Society mem- bers receive access to pri- vate tasting experiences as well as a 10 percent dis- count on re- orders and store pur- chases. The society has four different levels: Embarcadero, with a three-bottle allocation averaging $225; Expedition, with a three- bottle allocation averaging $450; Quicksil- ver, with a 3- or 6-bottle allocation averaging $1,050 or $2,100; and Savant, which offers the selections of the most ex- clusive and hard-to-procure wines, and is available exclusively by invitation for the most discerning collectors. As a community fixture in the hearts of Napa Valley and Healdsburg, Boisset wel- comes chefs, friends, neighbors and visitors to come in to shop. Oakville Grocery is also committed to its community and invites ar- tisans and purveyors to bring in their prod- ucts for consideration for sale. A steadfast practitioner of biodynamic and organic farming, through the new food selection at the groceries, Boisset is spreading its mis- sion for people to "take a stand for the fu- ture of food" and carefully consider what they are putting in their bodies. As part of this ideal Boisset has improved and ex- panded the line of Oakville Grocery- branded proprietary offerings — such as vinegar, olive oil, preserves, tapenade, mus- tards, charcuterie and beer — while at the same time ensuring they derived from more local sources. "Our motto is 'Eat Local, Drink Local, Picnic Local.' We want to sell products that are made as close to Oakville Grocery as possible," said Oakville Grocery General Manager Barry Dinsmore, referencing both the Oakville and Healdsburg locations of the store. He estimated that 70 percent of products in the stores hail from California, with another 20 percent from the U.S. and the remaining 10 percent international. One of the new food providers Oakville Grocery has partnered with is Ohm Coffee Roasters. The Napa Valley-based company led by former sommelier and wine market- ing professional Derek Bromley is the ex- clusive coffee provider for both the Oakville and Healdsburg locations. The Oakville location now has a coffee machine from La Marzocco, the benchmark Italian brand, as a central feature of the upgraded coffee pro- gram. In addition to new foods and wines, the Oakville loca- tion has a ren- ovated patio with new fur- niture and umbrellas to better enable guests to take in views of some of Napa Valley's most notable landmarks—the May- acamas Mountains and the landmark To Kalon vineyard to the west and the valley's highest point, Mt. St. Helena, to the north. Guests can soak up the atmosphere while enjoying sandwiches and salads from the deli cases inside; delicious pizza, burgers and sandwiches made in the wood-fired outdoor oven; or locally raised roasted chickens from the rotisserie, along with wine selected from the grocery or the new, adjacent 1881 Napa tasting room. The Healdsburg patio, which has 40 seats and is one of the only outdoor eating spaces near the Healdsburg Plaza, will also soon have an updated look. 1881 Napa derives its name from the his- tory of Oakville Grocery, which was founded in 1874 as a general store by P.B. O'Neil and then transitioned into a com- munity hub in 1881 under the auspices of Jim and Jennie McQuaid. "None of us own 1881 Napa or Oakville Grocery. We are just guests in their history. These places will outlive us," said Boisset. GN Kroger's Simple Truth Brand Launches Plant Based Collection The Kroger Co. is launching a new product collection: Simple Truth ® Plant Based. The collection will include fresh meatless burger patties and grinds as well as plant-based cookie dough, pasta sauces, sausages, deli slices, dips and other items. With new Simple Truth Plant Based products arriving every month this fall into 2020, the collection will include easy-to-identify packaging, featuring a distinct icon that will help customers locate the items as they navigate through store aisles or when shopping on www.kroger.com. The entire Simple Truth portfolio includes more than 1,550 natural and organic products, with new items launching monthly. Giant Food Opens New Store in Owings Mills, Md. Giant Food opened a new store in Owings Mills, Maryland on Friday, August 23. The new store features more than 66,730 square feet to house expanded departments and unique product offerings for local shoppers. This is the first store to be built from the ground up with Giant's new in-store format and design. Upgraded and enhanced features at the new store include expanded hot and prepared food selections, fresh sushi, an extensive organic section and a full-service pharmacy. The store will also house a PNC Bank branch and Starbucks as well as a full-service floral section and expanded cheese, deli, meat and seafood departments. GIANT to Open Two-Level Urban Flagship Store in Philly GIANT Food Stores has announced a new, two-level urban flagship GIANT store in downtown Philadelphia overlooking the Schuylkill River. GIANT will accelerate its Philadelphia market growth with a 65,000- square-foot store in the new Riverwalk mixed- use development on the banks of the Schuylkill River. Incorporating an innovative two-level format, the store will be located in the first of two towers under development at 60 North 23rd Street by PMC Property Group. The store is anticipated to open by fall of 2020 and will create more than 200 new jobs for the city. The new GIANT will be nestled in Riverwalk's Tower 1. Dramatic, high open ceilings will welcome customers into the first-floor glass lobby. Natural light and city views will enhance the shopping experience while an outdoor terrace will give customers a picturesque place to enjoy a glass of wine or beer and food. A dedicated onsite parking garage will be available exclusively to GIANT customers. Store designers have planned a breathtaking produce marketplace bursting with over 600 varieties of fresh produce with local product being spotlighted. Inspired by GIANT Heirloom Market, the store will also feature community vendor partnerships with passionate Philadelphia-area food purveyors tempting and captivating shoppers. The store will boast the largest plant-based department in the company.