MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — The new Piggly Wiggly that opened here last week could serve as a template for future locations in some larger markets, David Schools, chief executive officer, Piggly Wiggly Carolina, told SN. The store, which features an innovative layout centered around a kitchen area with products grouped by category — fresh, frozen and canned vegetables are located together, for example — borrows some elements from the chain’s 3-year-old, upscale Newton Farms store in Kiawah Island, S.C., near Charleston. “We believe we can expand these stores to new locations,” Schools told SN. The new Piggly Wiggly store here, measuring 43,000 square feet, also features a Starbucks café and Piggly Wiggly’s second Dream Dinners make-and-bake franchise. The store has a heavy emphasis on meal solutions, with four small “pods” set up around the store that group together various chilled and shelf-stable meal components, such as pasta, meatballs, Italian sausage, sauces, cheeses and wines.

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