Dive Brief:
- Oregon-based Basics Market has announced plans for a new location in Portland's Pearl District, according to a company press release. Once opened, the store will be the company’s third location since it launched last September.
- The 13,000-square-foot store, which is scheduled to open this fall, will be an expanded version of the original Portland store and tailored to its new neighborhood. Features include a beer and wine bar, cheese aging observation station, a fresh deli and dry cured meats.
- Similar to the first Basics Market location, the new store will also have nutrition classes, a Discovery Kitchen and rotating meal stations. Basics Market’s second location is opening in Tualatin, Oregon this summer.
Dive Insight:
Basics Market was masterminded by Pacific Foods founder Chuck Eggert and Errol Schweizer, who spent eight years leading Whole Foods' grocery department. According to a previous interview with Grocery Dive, the duo expects to stand out in Portland's competitive natural grocery scene with its focus on gourmet culinary experiences.
Its grocery offerings include local and seasonal products, a protein counter with Pacific Northwest meats and plant-based items and fresh produce delivered daily. While some grocery stores are looking to compete on discount pricing or sophisticated e-commerce offerings, the crux of Basics Market's "next-generation" concept is built on experience-driven stores, with cooking classes and food education, an emphasis on health and nutrition and a place for customers to gather.
Through its state-of-the-art cooking facilities, the store will also offer free interactive demonstrations, hands-on workshops and nutrition classes. The new location will also have an executive chef on staff to create fresh, seasonal recipes for the store's rotating meal stations.
Basics isn't the only store digging into the in-store experience. One grocer after another, from Winn-Dixie and ShopRite to Giant and Raley's, has remodeled to create better store layouts with more enticing, experience-focused features. Across the U.S., grocery stores now boast wine bars, beer caves, grocerants, local produce departments that feel like farmers markets and from-scratch bakeries.
A key to success in delivering an in-store experience that resonates, however, is making sure the store design and layout meet the needs of shoppers and engage them in new ways to turn grocery stores into destinations.
