SUTTON PLACE GOURMET ENTERS LONG ISLAND MARKETPLACE

JACK ROBERTIELLO

WOODBURY, N.Y. -- Specialty food retailer Sutton Place Gourmet upped the fresh meals ante here by opening their largest high-quality -- and high-priced -- store close to two existing supermarkets.

Located within sight of an Edward's store and an 8-month-old Pathmark that touts its own on-premise chefs and meal replacement department, the Sutton Place store needed four employees to direct parking lot traffic on its first Saturday, said a source who was present.

Known for its upscale stores and successful marketing of expensive prepared foods, baked goods, salads, cheeses, meats and seafood, Sutton Place's newest operation stocks about 100 meal replacement items. Among them are five types of lasagna, rotisserie and grilled chicken, quiches, a variety of meat loaves, marinated and stuffed meats and grilled vegetables.

Fresh food sections -- deli food-service departments, a bakery with a wood-burning oven, a produce section anchored by a tractor display, and well-designed meat, seafood and coffee departments -- occupy at least half of the 21,000-square-foot store.

The store, located on New York's metropolitan Long Island, is Sutton Place Gourmet's first foray into the New York City market area. The store also represents the first step in a planned expansion into other major East Coast cities, according to company literature.

The Bethesda, Md.-based company operates eight Sutton Place Gourmets and smaller Sutton on the Run stores in the Baltimore/ Washington market area, and five Hay Day Markets in Fairfield County, Conn., and Westchester County, N.Y.