Hip Supermarkets Jump on Takeout Bandwagon

Wine Tasting Room, Mini Bookstore, Take Out Sushi Joint, and Starbucks In A Grocery Store? 

There is a growing trend of high end retail establishments catering to niche markets.  One of these retail establishments that has been catching on are high end hip-supermarkets.  These hip supermarkets like Wholefoods, Wegmans, and Safeway are trying to “win back consumers” dining-out dollars, as well as differentiate themselves from other retail competitors, supermarkets, convenience stores, warehouse/club stores, supercenters, and other specialty retailers.” One way they are doing that is “blurring the lines” between “grocery store and take-out restaurant.”

If you step into a Safeway, you might see (or start to see) a “new joint to try take-out sushi”, a Starbucks to drink coffee, and a “mini bookstore” to sit and relax.  Another good example is a new Wholefoods in Fairfax, Va.  This hip grocery store has a wine tasting room with 80 wines on tap, hot bar and two salad bars, and a café seating for over 250.