RAINBOW FOODS VETERAN EYES UPSCALE STORE IN MINNEAPOLIS

Elliot Zwiebach

MINNEAPOLIS -- Dale Riley, a 30-year industry veteran who most recently ran the Rainbow Foods division of Roundy's here, plans to open a new store here in November called Fresh Seasons Market.

Riley told SN the store will have an upscale orientation, with high-quality merchandise, high service levels and a significant offering of natural and organic foods, "but with more affordable pricing than other upscale operators in the Twin Cities marketplace," he said.

Riley has worked for locally based upscale operators for most of his career -- initially at Byerly's, where he ultimately became president and chief operating officer in 1994; at Lunds Holdings, which acquired Byerly's in 1997 and named Riley executive vice president and chief operating officer, and at Kowalski's Markets, a small chain based in St. Paul, Minn., as chief operating officer.

In 2003, Riley joined Roundy's as vice president and general manager of its Rainbow Foods division -- a job he left in mid-2004. He has been doing consulting work since then before beginning work on developing the Fresh Seasons concept.

"Retail is what I do," Riley said, "and we see an opportunity at this location, and possibly at other locations, to create the kind of company Don Byerly [founder of Byerly] created in the early 1970s, with good-quality products, high service levels and a tremendous level of respect for employees."

The first Fresh Seasons Market will be located eight miles west of downtown Minneapolis in the Glen Lake section of Minnetonka, Minn. It will have no supermarket competition within a two-mile radius, although a franchised Cub store and a SuperTarget are located a little more than two miles away, Riley said.

Riley will be a co-owner of the store with two partners: Tim Meyerson, former corporate director of real estate assets for Supervalu here, and Tom Wartman, a real estate developer.

The 25,000-square-foot store will include departments run by local businesses, including Brown & Green Floral Market; General Store, which will offer giftware, greeting cards and housewares; and The Great Wall, which will run a 6-foot Chinese food counter.