Grocery Outlet opens new store in New Jersey

Grocery Outlet, the fast-growing West Coast discounter, is continuing its East Coast expansion with the opening of a new store on Thursday in New Jersey. Located at 3057 NJ-35 in Hazlet, the new store employs 25 people, and is the retailer’s third New Jersey location, according to the Emeryville, California-based retailer’s website.

The extreme-value grocery retailer’s Hazlet location will be run by independent operators Kent and Tracy Encarnacion. Grocery Outlet stores are owned by independent operators based in the communities they serve.

“We are so thrilled to be a part of the Hazlet community and provide big savings on quality groceries to relieve some financial burden families are facing amid the ongoing record-high inflation and supply chain challenges,” Kent and Tracy Encarnacion said in a statement.

Grocery Outlet celebrated the store's grand opening with a variety of giveaways and a chance for shoppers to win $1,000 in groceries through March 2, valid only at the Hazlet location.  

Offering the same brands as traditional grocery stores but at lower prices, Grocery Outlet’s buyers “scour the country to find the top manufacturers with excess inventory and seasonal closeouts so Grocery Outlet can offer ‘wow savings’ on thousands of name-brand products," the company said in a statement.

A destination for bargain-seeking shoppers as food prices remain high, Grocery Outlet, is heading into 2023 with a winning growth strategy, according to a report released earlier this month from Placer.ai. Grocery Outlet was the only grocery retailer to make the list.

Foot traffic to Grocery Outlet “indicates just how receptive shoppers are to well-priced groceries—in Q3 2022, the chain saw 10.1% more visits and 11.8% more visitors than in Q3 2021,” Placer.ai noted. “Visits per venue were also elevated, with 4.3% more visits per venue in Q3 2022 than the same period in 2021.”

In 2022, the extreme-value grocery retailer opened 28 new stores and now operates over 430 locations, in California, Idaho, New Jersey, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington and Maryland.