PCC Community Markets is closing its downtown Seattle store

Kicking things off with some East Coast co-op news, the city of Elizabeth, New Jersey, has renamed York Street as “Joe Sheridan Way” in honor of longtime Wakefern President Joe Sheridan. Sheridan, who was born and raised in Elizabeth and began his career at Wakefern’s Elizabeth warehouse more than 47 years ago, is retiring next month.

“Joe eventually rose to the role of President of Wakefern in 2011, and led what is now a $19.6 billion cooperative with his signature grit and determination—and with his deep sense of pride in his Elizabeth roots,” said new Wakefern President Mike Stigers. “Few demonstrate a stronger love for their company—and their community—than Joe.”

Wakefern Food Corp., founded in 1946, is now comprised of nearly 50 member families who independently own and operate 365 supermarkets.

"The City of Elizabeth thanks Joe Sheridan for his efforts leading Wakefern, creating jobs and providing quality food products for our residents,” said Elizabeth Mayor J. Christian Bollwage in a statement.

Store closing

Now turning to the West Coast, PCC Community Markets (PCC), a community-owned grocery cooperative in the Puget Sound region, this week announced that its store in downtown Seattle at 4th and Union will close permanently on Jan. 31.

“Despite an amazing team, fantastic store conditions and a supportive landlord, our downtown store has unfortunately remained unprofitable, and we do not see that changing for the foreseeable future,” said PCC CEO Krish Srinivasan in a statement. “Since continued losses pose a significant financial risk to our co-op’s long-term viability, we are acting now.”

The store opened just last January but hasn't hit financial goals, mostly due to lower numbers of office workers and residential grocery shoppers in the city center following the pandemic.

The store employed nearly 80 people and will prioritize their placement in other roles within the co-op by offering staff positions at other stores. Despite this store closing, the good news is that PCC has 15 other stores in the region, including seven in the city of Seattle.

Global fun

Finding new ways to draw in customers is always on a grocer’s mind—and for Super G Mart, one of North Carolina’s largest international supermarkets, in Pineville, North Carolina, the retailer is going global. On Nov. 18, the new Super G Mart will host its first Global Culture Fest, featuring performances, street food and live music. The 108,000-square-foot Pineville location at 10500 Centrum Parkway is bigger than the grocer’s other two locations in Greensboro and Charlotte—allowing for a more immersive experience for its shoppers.

AWG's new look

Kansas City-based distributor Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG), the nation's largest food distribution cooperative for independent grocers, has a new online look, which aims to build brand awareness and loyalty, while driving consumers to AWG member retailers’ stores, AWG said in a statement.

‟We redesigned the Always Save brand and Best Choice Family of Brands websites to be user-friendly and to communicate the unique elements of the brands to consumers, ultimately increasing business for AWG member retailers,” said Cara Finger, AWG Brands marketing manager.

AWG also has bragging rights in the frozen food section. Last month, AWG Brands, the distributor's private label brands, was named a 2023 gold winner in the National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association’s (NFRA) Golden Penguin Awards competition for Best Private Brand Campaign.

“Frozen food is one of the fastest growing and evolving categories,” said Tye Anthony, vice chairman of frozen for NFRA and senior vice president of merchandising for AWG. “We are constantly looking for new ways to grow AWG Brands in this category."

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