GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Gordon Food Service opened its latest retail concept this week. The foodservice provider invited both its traditional clientele and Grand Rapids-area shoppers to see its new urban “experience”-focused format.

The 16,000-square-foot store is a first for the Wyoming-based company that operates 176 stores nationwide. According to local news source MLive, the new format offers a number of unique first-of-their-kind flourishes—including a craft ice cream bar—as well as provides staple products, with a focus on fresh offerings like milk, eggs, bread, and fresh produce.

“We have our traditional foodservice customer, the restaurants and business operators that we need to service out of this store,” said Mark Dempsey, Marketing Manager. “But we also wanted to be relevant to the community and relevant to those who didn't just shop at our stores a few times a year for a party but needed our store for their weekly grocery shopping.”

Senior Manager Brandon Ryan told the news source that the concept was inspired by Manhattan grocers with their extensive focus on fresh food in a convenient format.

“What we saw in Manhattan was this focus on service, the focus on deli, service-bakery,” Ryan told MLive. “We said, ‘You know what, if it's still happening here and where they're at, then it's definitely something we want to bring to Grand Rapids.’”

In addition to servicing grocery store-goers, the company will attend to its restaurant and other foodservice clientele through the new location.

Will Gordon Food Service continue to expand on this fresh-focused format, shifting further into traditional grocery retail channels?

AndNowUKnow will continue to report.

Gordon Food Service