13 Grocers That Are Embracing Foodservice

CHICAGO -- Several supermarkets nationwide are giving other foodservice outlets a run for their money.

• Click here for a look at how the trend is evolving.

While Whole Foods and Wegmans might be the pioneers in grocery prepared foods, a number of other regional grocers with growing foodservice programs are cropping up ...

With more than 350 stores throughout Texas and northeast Mexico, H-E-B Grocery has developed a range of full-service restaurants for inside its supermarkets, including Table 57 Dining & Drinks, 3 Double-O Nine Restaurant & Bar and Oaks Crossing Restaurant & Bar. It also features food to go with branded stations such as The Café, serving custom sandwiches, salads and pizzas; Stackers Handmade Sandwiches; True Texas BBQ, serving meats smoked with Texas Oak for up to 16 hours; and Flaming Bird, a stop for rotisserie-chicken meals. H-E-B’s mobile app allows customers to order their food online for quicker pick-up.

A division of H-E-B, Central Market, with locations  throughout Texas, focuses on chef-driven prepared “dinners for two” and other meals with daily changing themes inspired by seasonal and ethnic flavors and better-for-you ingredients. An on-site cooking school offers regular classes for learning more about cooking with the grocer’s various foods.

A Minneapolis-based retailer and direct competitor to upscale grocer Lunds & Byerlys in the same market, Kowalaski’s prepared and onsite foodservice offerings include a full-service deli counter with made-to-order, artisan sandwiches that highlights ingredients from local vendors. The stores’ grab-and-go cases feature healthy snacks, appetizers, wraps, sandwiches, sushi, entrées, sides and salads for quick meals on the run. Hand-tossed pizzas, soups, rotisserie meats and gluten-free options round out the offerings.

Created by a former Dominick’s executive, Mariano's, a rapidly growing Chicago-based grocery chain recently bought out by Kroger (by way of Roundy’s), features expanded in-store dining options at its newer and flagship stores. Different stations serve barbecue, wood-fired pizzas, sandwiches and other grilled items, fresh-made sushi and even an oyster and martini bar with a regularly scheduled piano player.

Standard Market is an upscale grocer in Chicago and its suburbs. It features a full-service restaurant and grill focusing on American fare, including burgers, pizzas and “bowls” such as the Southwest Bowl with cilantro rice, roasted red peppers, charred corn, black beans, pickled red onions, avocado, shredded monterey jack cheese and a fire-roasted tomato sauce. Standard Market also features a full-service deli with made-to-order sandwiches using house-baked breads and a prepared-foods section with prepackaged dinners and meals using house-made pasta and other market ingredients.

A growing retail chain in the San Francisco Bay area, Oliver’s Markets features an on-site taqueria, fresh sushi and elaborate salad bar as well as a full-service deli preparing made-to-order, build-your-own hot and cold sandwiches. Specialty selections include the Calistoga Honey: maple honey ham with bacon, avocado, cheddar and honey mustard aioli on a Dutch crunch roll. Its Fit Friendly Foods program offers preportioned, low-salt, minimally processed entrées with 400 calories or fewer.

With headquarters in Portland and stores across the Pacific Northwest, New Season’s Market’s deli employs its own lead chefs crafting salads and dishes from seasonal, local and organic ingredients. There are also freshly made soups, pastas and salads, and customers can design their own sandwiches or salads. A wok bar serves up ramen and other noodle dishes, while a burrito station fills custom orders.

Wakerfern Food Corp./ShopRite has continued to expand its reach throughout the East Coast from its roots in New Jersey. At one of its newer locations in Bethlehem, Pa., the 68,000-square-foot store features an on-site dietitian offering free consultations for customers in meal planning and nutritional guidance. Like other locations, this store also features a large scratch bakery for breads, doughnuts and pastries.

New York-based chain Price Chopper Supermarkets is increasingly known for its European-style Market Bistro stores, which have a food-hall setup with stations offering sandwiches, fish fries, sushi, burritos, burgers, veggie-focused dishes and stone-fired pizzas. The Market 32 Bakery & Patisserie offers house-baked breads and bagels as well as doughnuts, pastries and elaborate desserts.

San Francisco retailer Bi-Rite Market focuses on its expansive prepared-foods section, cooking all of its salads, sandwiches, soups and entrée meals in an exposed kitchen in the middle of the store. A robust deli section goes beyond classic sandwiches, offering Vietnamese pork, French-style croquet monsieurs and more. The Bi-Rite Market creamery and bake shop serves small-batch ice cream, baked goods and breads.

A staple in the Northeast, Giant Food Stores has lately focused on expanding its take-home meal kits for easy weeknight dinners. Select stores also feature The Marketplace Bistro for artisan sandwiches and other prepared foods, as well as brick-oven pizza.

An institution in Madison, Wis., since 1917, the recently remodeled Metcalfe’s Market features a bright, airy dining space in which customers can enjoy its Asian-inspired stir-fry dishes, sushi, gourmet sandwiches and egg-based breakfast items served all day. The store also features a full-service specialty coffee bar and a wide variety of grab-and-go items made using local produce.

Part retailer, part restaurant, all food hall, Eataly is an upscale, urban outlet with locations in New York and Chicago. It offers high-end and unique Italian groceries, as well as prepared foods for enjoying at home or in the store. Mini-restaurants serve handmade pastas, wood-fired pizzas made with fresh pulled mozzarella, cooked and raw seafood dishes, rotisserie-style meats and more.