ShopRite to Take Over Mall Department Store

ShopRite operator Village Super Market will take over anchor space once belonging to the Bon-Ton department store chain at the Stroud Mall in Stroudsburg, Pa.

The redevelopment will bring an 87,000-square-foot supermarket to the northeastern Pennsylvania mall, beset by the bankruptcy and subsequent closure of Bon-Ton earlier this year. The move provides another example of a food store moving to create destinations out of vacant anchor space in regional malls, which tend to have wider drawing power than the freestanding stores and neighborhood shopping centers where supermarkets have typically been located. Later this year, Lidl will open a site at the Staten Island Mall in New York. Wegmans has also located stores in mall properties.

“We expect this state-of-the-art ShopRite to be a great anchor to the shopping center and a community destination for local residents,” said Perry Blatt, third-generation supermarket operator and director of marketing and business development for Village Super Market.

Village, a Springfield, N.J.-based member of the Wakefern Food Corp. cooperative, operates 30 ShopRites, including a new store in the Bronx, N.Y., and is known for large, high-volume units, many of which include foodservice operations. It had $1.6 billion in sales in in 2017.

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The Stroud Mall ShopRite will focus on providing fresh prepared foods, produce, meat and seafood, while offering a large and varied selection of groceries, organic and locally sourced foods. The new store will also include a health and wellness department led by a registered dietitian.

“We are thrilled to work with ShopRite to debut the company’s new concept through this redevelopment,” said Stephen Lebovitz, CEO of Stoud Mall developer CBL Properties. “As consumer preferences evolve, the offerings at our properties must also evolve. ShopRite will provide our customers in Stroudsburg and the entire region an unparalleled experience, driving new traffic and sales to the entire property. We are excited for construction to start shortly and for next year’s grand opening."