Foot traffic is once again booming in urban environments, which may be why two major grocery brands have recently announced new, much smaller sized grab-and-go store concepts that will debut in New York City. Both Whole Foods Market and Trader Joe’s will be introducing their own versions of convenience store-style formats in the Big Apple, with the intent of possibly expanding these mini-shops into other densely populated urban cities.
Whole Foods Market will open the first of at least four new smaller-format stores, called Whole Foods Market Daily Shop, throughout New York City. The grocer indicated that it wants to expand the concept into additional cities in the future. These Daily Shops will be between 7,000 and 14,000 s.f., which is considerably smaller than an average sized 40,000-s.f. Whole Foods Market. Daily Shops will sell pre-packaged grab-and-go meals, as well as produce, meat, seafood, alcohol, bread and packaged treats from Whole Food Market’s own “365” label. The first Daily Shop will occupy 9,709 s.f. of a corner unit in the Upper East Side neighborhood, taking over a portion of a former Food Emporium. This new store will also feature a “Juice & Java” section that sells freshly made coffee, tea, smoothies, pressed juices, sandwiches, soups and desserts.
In March, Trader Joe’s opened its own version of a quick-stop convenience store, called Trader Joe’s Pronto, in a 2,800-s.f. Union Square space that is directly adjacent to one of its traditional stores. This is considerably smaller than a typical Trader Joe’s store, which averages 15,000 s.f. The space had formerly been another new Trader Joe’s prototype called Trader Joe’s Wine Shop, which permanently closed in August of 2022. The site occupies a street-level unit of the Palladium Hall building, a 16-floor residence affiliated with New York University.
The Pronto store primarily sells a collection of the popular grab-and-go prepared food items found in a traditional Trader Joe’s store, such as sandwiches, wraps, burritos, sliced fruit, chips, beverages, yogurt, salads and soup. The shop also carries pre-made meals such as meatloaf and lasagna. The term “Pronto” refers back to the original convenience store chain that the founder of Trader Joe’s created in California back in 1958, which was called Pronto Market. Although Trader Joe’s has indicated that it does not have immediate plans to open additional Pronto stores, it is conceivable that if this initial store proves to be a success, future Pronto locations may be popping up in other high-traffic urban destinations.
