Dive Brief:

• Several Raley’s locations will convert their in-store cafes into Starbucks locations as part of a tie-up between the two companies, a Raley’s spokesperson confirmed via email. 
• The new coffee offering will roll out to select stores over the next few years, beginning with two California stores and a location in Nevada.
• This is the latest upgrade Raley’s has made to its cafe offering, having already established other coffee partnerships and renovated some stores to include outdoor seating as well as wine and beer bars.

Dive Insight:

As Raley’s updates its in-store cafes and dining destinations, it’s looking to a well-known coffee provider in addition to some local brands, with selections varying according to local preferences.

The Incline Village, Nevada, store at 930 Tahoe Boulevard will debut the first Raley’s Starbucks in October followed shortly by the Sacramento, California, location at 4650 Natomas Boulevard in November. The grocer’s Bel Air banner location in Gold River, California, will introduce the updated cafe sometime in Spring 2024, according to a Raley’s spokesperson. 

All three of these locations previously offered Peet’s cafe, the Raley’s representative said, adding that each of these stores feature different formats and customer bases, allowing the grocer to test the best layout for future locations looking to update their dining and drinking spots. 

This is the first phase of the Starbucks cafe transition, with more store cafes slotted to switch over to the brand in the future, the Raley’s spokesperson noted. The West Sacramento Business Journal noted that the conversion of the 300-square-foot space in the Natomas Boulevard store is valued at $150,000. 

In addition to Peet’s and Starbucks, Raley’s has partnered with other coffee brands, including Sacramento company Chocolate Fish and specialty coffee brand Drink Coffee, Do Stuff. 

As shoppers continue to seek out in-store experiences post-pandemic, coffee shops continue to be an area grocers are leaning into. 

In October 2022, Sprouts announced plans to debut its first in-store coffee bar in partnership with Press Coffee at a Phoenix store. Similarly, Wegmans began piloting self-service coffee machines at select upstate New York stores earlier this year. According to local news reports, Wegmans aims to counter a decrease in foot traffic seen at its in-store Buzz Coffee shops.