CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Swiss Farms drive-thru grocery store is expanding along the Eastern Seaboard, including an initial five stores in Charlotte, N.C., according to a report by the Charlotte Observer. The first store will be in the Crown Point Shopping Center and will open in March, the report added.
Originally created by Lebanon, Pa.'s Wengert Dairy Farms, the first Swiss Farms drive-thru-only store opened in 1968, and the chain primarily has operated in Delaware County, Pa. Investors bought the business from the original owners in early 2000, and in 2009 designed a new prototype.
The chain currently has 13 locations in Pennsylvania and one--its first franchisee--in New Jersey (see Related Content below for previous CSP Daily News coverage).
When customers drives up to the new store, they encounter what looks like a glass house--floor to ceiling glass walls on three sides, rising 14 feet for maximum visibility. Custom racking systems complement the store with prominent product exposure, including refrigerated dairy and produce display cases. The result of this merchandising is that the store's interior serves the customer from the car, showing them the offerings and tagging sale prices.
"We wanted to expand the brand because we felt for years they've been able to enjoy drive-through convenience and have a niche in the market place," Rocco Fiorentino, president of Broomall, Pa.-based Swiss Farms Franchise Co., told the newspaper.
Mike Lang, who owns the Charlotte franchises, told the paper that a store also will open in the Lake Norman area, and he plans to eventually have 10 or 12 stores in Charlotte.
The stores will sell about 800 items, including bread, milk, eggs and cereal, said the report, and it will offer Swiss Farms products, including gourmet ice cream, cottage cheese and other dairy products.
Lang said that he has been working with a chef for about a year to develop recipes for prepared foods for the store, including breakfast and lunch sandwiches. The store also will sell rotisserie chicken, all cooked at the store.
The Charlotte store will be the first Swiss Farms store to sell beer and wine, the Observer said. The store will handle four cars at a time, and time in the drive-through averages about a minute, Lang said.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.