John Boccuzzi, Jr.

Supermarkets on Tap

March 1, 2010

FROM RETAILWIRE:
Both Wegmans and Whole Foods have recently opened pubs inside stores in Pennsylvania, serving beer, wine and drinks. What do you think of the idea of pubs in supermarkets? Does it take a Wegmans or Whole Foods to pull it off or is this something most grocers could handle?      [more...]

Although the thought is interesting at first, I am not sure this is a direction retailers will want to take for several reasons.

1) Do one thing and do it really well. Can a grocer really run a pub as well as someone that does it full time? Think about a pub opening a grocery store.

2) Will people shopping for food and picking up prescriptions really be tempted to stop into the pub for a quick drink?

3) Destination - Is a pub located inside a grocery store truly going to be a destination for people who want to have drinks with friends or watch a sporting event?

4) Liability - I am not in the insurance industry, but I have to believe this would drive up the cost of liability insurance.

Do one thing and do it better than everyone else. Creating a stronger in-store cafe that serves healthy salads and great entrees is a much better direction, in my opinion. On a recent visit to Hy-Vee, I was really impressed by their in-Store cafe. The quality of the food was very good and is clearly what drove consumers to purchase. Not to mention a fair price and lots of great options.

I am a lover of out-of-the-box thinking, but this one is tough for me to get my arms around.