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THRIFTY IS SHIFTING TO LEASED 'PICNIC'

BURLINGTON, Wash. -- A leased department has replaced Thrifty Foods' own chicken program at the chain's 70,000-square-foot Food Pavilion operation here.se "we just weren't proud of it," said Jim McDevitt, director of perishables.Thrifty Foods entered into a lease agreement with Aunt Polly's Picnic, a young company that used to operate free-standing retail units under the trade name of Capons in western

BURLINGTON, Wash. -- A leased department has replaced Thrifty Foods' own chicken program at the chain's 70,000-square-foot Food Pavilion operation here.

se "we just weren't proud of it," said Jim McDevitt, director of perishables.

Thrifty Foods entered into a lease agreement with Aunt Polly's Picnic, a young company that used to operate free-standing retail units under the trade name of Capons in western Washington.

Capons units were direct competitors with national chicken giants Boston Market and Kentucky Fried Chicken, offering salads and soups in addition to center-of-the-plate chicken items.

"It's tough to make money in hot food," said McDevitt.

"The hot case was taken out and we found that our deli was performing better. It had a higher distribution and a higher margin with a lower gross. Instead we wanted to focus our attention on our deli," he said.

"We retrenched with our salads, pizza, meats and sandwiches. These items are more profitable to us and they are our new focus."

"We have found that Aunt Polly's has been noncompetitive with our service deli," McDevitt said.

"Any time you can find a partner to help pay the rent and contribute to the total store, you have a winner.

"Aunt Polly's presents a good opportunity for us," he added. "They have a better cost structure."

Aunt Polly's Picnic is also in line with the supermarket operator's local image, McDevitt noted.

"When our customers think Thrifty Foods, they think quality," he added. "In adding leased departments, we had to make sure that our quality image isn't compromised."

Apart from the chicken concept, Thrifty Foods also has Cinnabon, with a Ruby Moon Coffee bar and a bank, in the Food Pavilion units. The food-service concept is adjacent to the operator's service deli and has a dedicated register.

A soft-drink dispenser is also incorporated into the concept. Aunt Polly's and the store's service deli share a seating area, which is in the back-right corner of the store, directly behind the produce department.

The concept signage reads "Aunt Polly's Picnic -- a picnic begins in the heart." It offers main dishes and all the trimmings hot to go, or chilled and ready for customers to help themselves.

Chicken is offered in slow-roasted and fried styles, and there are two styles of mashed potatoes as well. A two-piece meal with mashed potatoes, homestyle gravy, coleslaw and a corn and cheddar muffin is $4.99.

Family-size chicken portions are available in eight-piece, 12-piece and 16-piece sizes for $4.99, $7.49 and $9.98, respectively.

A $9.95 Family Favorite Dinner includes eight pieces of chicken or one whole chicken, a large mashed potato side dish, gravy, a large coleslaw and four muffins.

Food Pavilion circulars have featured Aunt Polly's Picnic offering a free video rental with a purchase of the Family Favorite Dinner.

After the success of the Burlington unit, another Aunt Polly's Picnic leased department was added into plans for the new Yakima store.

The only change in the department will be in the position of the Aunt Polly's Picnic in relation to the traffic flow to the front of the store, McDevitt said.

"Ideally a food-service concept should be positioned up front in the store," said McDevitt. "Because of the existing floor plan we could not do that in Burlington. However, it is up front in the Yakima store."