A&P Announces Comprehensive Store Investment Strategy

The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company announced that it will unveil its newly remodeled The Food Emporium store located on 1066 Third Avenue in New York City on Friday, May 18, as part of its comprehensive store investment strategy. A&P’s plan to upgrade its store footprint over the next five years reinforces the company’s commitment to being the best neighborhood food and drug store by enhancing its customer’s overall shopping experience. “Improving our store footprint is one of our top priorities,” says Sam Martin, A&P’s President and CEO. “We analyzed each store and devised a tiered upgrade plan based on each store’s need. Our goal is to renew the majority of our store footprint over the next five years.” Later this week, The Food Emporium on Third Avenue will join the handful of stores that have already been upgraded as part of the store investment plan.  This 16,000-square-foot Upper East Side store is the fifth location to receive an overhaul since November 2011.  Two other Upper East Side stores now offer a larger selection of gourmet foods and more locally grown products in an appealing store environment with modern fixtures. In addition to The Food Emporium remodels, two New Jersey Pathmark stores were also recently upgraded to reflect the cultural preferences of the communities they serve. The Bergenfield Pathmark now has a stronger kosher focus, and the Weehawken Pathmark has more products that cater to Hispanic residents. “We’re delighted to add The Food Emporium on Third Avenue to our growing list of revamped stores,” says Tom O’Boyle, A&P’s Executive Vice President of Merchandising, Marketing and Supply & Logistics. “The improvements to this store, which include an expanded merchandising assortment, a better layout and new fixtures, show our renewed commitment to the Upper East Side community.” Design changes were made with the urban customer in mind. The ground floor features café seating, where customers can sip on their favorite drink from the brand new coffee bar, while eating breakfast, lunch or dinner items from the expanded hot food section. The lower level also has a broader selection of grab-and-go items for city customers. Customer service improvements were also implemented in this Upper East Side location, where more than 20 new associates were hired and trained to better serve the needs of customers in every department of the store. Additional store upgrades include: New grab-and-go deli and bakery items New additions to the hot food section include crab cakes, Pan Asian lemongrass fried chicken, salmon teriyaki, ziti and much more. This store also offers a cold wing bar, cold and hot Boar’s head sandwiches, plus an enhanced olive bar and more specialty cheeses. After a visit to the deli, customers can stroll over to the bakery to get “Oh My Goodness” (OMG) brownies, new single-serve gourmet cupcakes and other deserts, such as tiramisu and Ultimate Flourless Chocolate Cake. Expanded selection of craft and imported beers New York City dwellers can now choose from an even broader assortment of craft and imported beers, making this store the go-to spot for a variety of brews – from chilled Sixpoint, Brooklyn, Dogfish Head and Peroni, to the more traditional Corona, Stella Artois, Guinness and Sam Adams. Improved organic, natural and specialty foods assortment The health-conscious customer will appreciate the increased amount of organic and natural foods and gluten-free items that this store has to offer. Plus, more kosher, Eastern European, Hispanic and Asian foods were added as well. More fresh-cut produce Shoppers on the go will really appreciate the enhanced fresh produce department, where they can get about 85 different varieties of fresh-cut fruit and vegetables, prepared daily. Much of the produce is locally grown in New York and Long Island. In addition to the new and improved salad bar, customers can also order fruit and vegetable trays for any special occasion. Revamped seafood and meat departments The seafood department will now offer an expanded assortment of fresh fillets and steak fish delivered daily from the Fulton Fish Market. Here, shoppers can also get freshly prepared, ready to cook seafood and custom-made sushi. The expanded meat section offers all-natural chicken, fresh ground beef and A&P’s exclusive brand of Woodson & James Angus steaks.