Grocery Outlet to open 5th location in Philadelphia on Thursday

Grocery Outlet will open its fifth location in Philadelphia on Thursday, as the grocery retailer continues its East Coast expansion.

The new store, located at 1801 North American Street, brings a “much-needed local grocery option to the area,” the California-based retailer said in a statement.

The new store will employ 45 people and will be run by independent operators Jess Loflin and Marie Cole. Grocery Outlet stores are owned by independent operators based in the communities they serve.

“We are so thrilled to join this vibrant community where we can help ease the burden of inflation by providing big savings on quality groceries,” said Loflin and Cole in a statement. “This partnership with Grocery Outlet gives us the ability to grow our business, create new jobs for local residents and, more importantly, give back to the local community.”

As part of Grocery Outlet’s community outreach, Loflin and Cole donated $1,000 to The Sunday Love Project, which aids those experiencing food insecurity in the community. An additional $1,000 donation was also made to Norris Square Community Alliance, which empowers residents to become self-reliant and unites the community by developing and improving the physical, economic, social, cultural and educational aspects of the neighborhood.

Grocery Outlet, which posted strong earnings for fourth quarter and fiscal 2022, takes advantage of opportunistic buying as its buying teams focus on finding the top manufacturers with excess inventory and seasonal closeouts.

A destination for bargain-seeking shoppers as food prices remain high, Grocery Outlet is navigating 2023 with a winning growth strategy, according to a report released earlier this year 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.”

Founded in 1946, the extreme-value grocery retailer now operates over 440 locations in California, Idaho, New Jersey, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington and Maryland.