By Beth N. Gray, Times Correspondent
Friday, October 1, 2010
Flozel Troupe III, 3, plays with a cell phone Thursday while shopping with his father, Flozel Troupe Jr., at the new Save-A-Lot supermarket in Brooksville. The new location is at the southeast corner of Cortez Boulevard and Broad Street.
BROOKSVILLE — Bright lights, bright colors and spacious aisles are dazzling new and returning customers at the recently moved Save-A-Lot supermarket at the South Square plaza at the southeast corner of Cortez Boulevard and Broad Street.
"New color scheme," manager Stephen Rees said with a smile, adding, "The customer vibe is phenomenal."
Rees, who has been with the St. Louis-based grocery chain for eight years, managed the previous store along S Broad Street. He said the new supermarket has more space efficiencies; expanded produce, meat and dairy departments; and easier highway access.
"It's a better shopping experience," he said.
Instead of cases of food stacked soldierlike along the walls, the items now are set at eye-catching angles.
Above the deli meats and pre-cooked entrees, refrigerated side dishes, such as coleslaw and potato salad, are at hand. For busy customers, the arrangement facilitates "grab-and-go" shopping, Rees explained.
He noted that a customer at a more traditional supermarket can walk a half-mile inside that store. In the 11,000 square feet of the new market, the steps are fewer.
Shelving for canned and dry goods has been adjusted to accommodate more products. And, yes, the aisles are wider.
Rees said the changes are not in response to steps taken by other grocery chains.
"We're not trying to keep up with anybody. Our customers in Brooksville have supported us, and we want to give something back,'' Rees said. "The division manager made the decision to expand. Corporate wants us to grow by 1,200 stores in five years."
The store employs 20 full- and part-time workers, including four managers. Check-out lines are more fully staffed with the addition of four, now a total of 12 clerks.
"We're committed to get the people out (in a timely fashion)," Rees said. Lengthy checkout lines have been a complaint of past Save-A-Lot shoppers.
Price is perhaps the main attraction. "It's a 40 percent savings," Rees said.
How is that possible? "We manufacture all our own brands," explained assistant manager Elise Janiszewski.
She said the company buys name-brand products in bulk when they are on special from their suppliers. A stroll through the store might lead a shopper to Oscar Meyer deli meats, Quaker cereals and Dole canned fruits.
Shopper Joan Blunk of Masaryktown, 67, liked the new digs. She and her husband, Jim, said they shopped the previous store for price, but said the new supermarket is better.
"It's clean,'' she noted.
Lower prices have brought customer Shirley Pawling of Brooksville, 81, to Save-A-Lot for years. "I come for the bananas, always 3 pounds for a dollar," Pawling said, "and then I get everything else."
As Pawling stacked his groceries on the checkout belt, he told the cashier, "I like your new home."
Beth Gray can be reached at graybethn@earthlink.net.