PITTSBURGH -- Prepared meals are nothing new for the supermarket industry. It's been slinging salads, subs, sushi and pizza for plenty of years. But the trend toward sit-down dining areas and more restaurant-style concepts has meant a whole new learning curve for grocers.
At the Giant Eagle Market District store in Robinson, Pa., tables can seat up to 140 and free Wi-Fi is available. During a recent lunch hour, diners filled every seat, according to a recent report in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on area grocers turning to foodservice.
[image-nocss]At the new Shop 'n Save store in Cranberry, more than 100 people daily have been filing through for lunch specials such as $1.99 gourmet burgers and grilled cheese sandwiches. The store has an elevator-accessible balcony that seats more than 100 people.
Upon opening, co-owner Jeff Sorbara quickly learned the upstairs station, built to cook $1.99 breakfasts of pancakes, omelets or bacon and eggs, had to be reconfigured. "We figured out as soon as we opened the kitchen should have been bigger up here," Sorbara told the Post-Gazette.
One positive lesson was the hiring of employees with restaurant experience to best execute the menu. Sorbara also learned to make room for customers' shopping carts while they dined.
Giant Eagle began offering restaurant-style food made on-site in part because traditional sandwiches and salads from its central kitchen would sell out by 3 p.m., leaving evening shoppers disappointed.
The company enlisted Chicago-based restaurant firm and consultancy Lettuce Entertain You to review its foodservice program.
Turns out one of supermarkets' biggest assets--the wide assortment of foods and an entire market of ingredients to pull from--is also one of its downfalls.
"The biggest thing they told us is we have too much food," John Gruver, Market District lead development chef, told the paper. Do the stores really need prepared salads, a salad bar, plus a station where employees make individual salads for customers?
So while the Market District cafe was rated by Pittsburgh magazine last year as "the best place for a group to eat when nobody can agree on what to eat," it still requires serious editing.
"We're trying to make sure every station has absolutely craveable items," said Doug Wells, director of fresh merchandising for Market District.
Pictured above: A bar/dining area in a Whole Foods store.
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