Big Y Bows New Fresh Concept
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- Big Y here last week debuted its Fresh Acres Market concept, which emphasizes fresh fruit, organic food, and gourmet specialties. The 30,000-square-foot store in the Sixteen Acres neighborhood, which supersedes an earlier Big Y location, was reopened after a $10 million makeover.
"This concept is totally unique to Big Y," Michael N. Beaudry, the store's sales manager, told a local newspaper, the Springfield Republican. "It's like no others."
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Amenities at the store include an innovative open-air entrance, which relies on a curtain of air to regulate the temperature inside the store, so that the store can keep its large garage-style doors open to create the feeling of shopping outdoors. The system maintains a comfortable temperature with the doors open until the outside temperature dips to 27 degrees.
The store is said to offer a wide assortment of organic foods; over 500 gluten-free items; daily delivered fresh produce, much of it sourced locally; a selection of 375 cheeses; an olive bar; convenient grab-and-go hot entrees; over 246 types of coffee; and a selection of gift baskets that can be shipped worldwide.
Big Y will monitor the performance of the inaugural Fresh Acres store before deciding on future rollouts of the format, the newspaper reported.
"This concept is totally unique to Big Y," Michael N. Beaudry, the store's sales manager, told a local newspaper, the Springfield Republican. "It's like no others."
(Story continues below.)
Amenities at the store include an innovative open-air entrance, which relies on a curtain of air to regulate the temperature inside the store, so that the store can keep its large garage-style doors open to create the feeling of shopping outdoors. The system maintains a comfortable temperature with the doors open until the outside temperature dips to 27 degrees.
The store is said to offer a wide assortment of organic foods; over 500 gluten-free items; daily delivered fresh produce, much of it sourced locally; a selection of 375 cheeses; an olive bar; convenient grab-and-go hot entrees; over 246 types of coffee; and a selection of gift baskets that can be shipped worldwide.
Big Y will monitor the performance of the inaugural Fresh Acres store before deciding on future rollouts of the format, the newspaper reported.