Roche Bros. sets downtown opening

Roche Bros. on Tuesday announced that its new flagship store in Boston’s Downtown Crossing will open April 29 at the restored Burnham Building.

Roche Bros. is the first large-scale grocery store to be built in at the site, where the Filene’s Basement department store once stood. The 25,000-square-foot store will offer the growing residential neighborhood fresh food, national grocery brands, local artisan finds, New England flavors and a wide selection of creative prepared foods, the family-run retailer said.

"The Roche family has been part of the Boston community since 1952 when our dad Pat and Uncle Bud opened a small neighborhood meat market in Roslindale Square. We’ve grown up and expanded over the past 60 years, and it is special to our family to be opening a new location right in the very heart of the city. We are honored to have earned this place in the community and are looking forward to serving our new neighborhood,” said Rick Roche, CEO, who runs the Wellesley, Mass., company with his brother, COO Pat Roche.

At the street level, customers will find an extensive array of ready-to-eat food, including signature chocolate chip cookies and a coffee bar. Street-side seating and an outdoor fruit and flower stand will provide added convenience along one of New England’s busiest pedestrian malls.

Downstairs, in the former space of Filene’s Basement, is a full-service supermarket, where customers can shop for a vast assortment of fresh food, national and local grocery brands and prepared foods. Convenient features include the produce department’s “Chop Shop” where home cooks can choose from more than 40 varieties of recipe-ready vegetables cut fresh daily in the store.

Larry Baxter, a Roche Bros. associate since 1983, will serve as store manager. Marvin Alvarez and Krystle Bredeson, both Roche Bros. veterans of more than 16 years, have been named assistant managers. The store will employ approximately 70 full-time associates and more than 200 part-time team members.

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