Pittsburgh Market Heats Up With New Competitors

Pittsburgh’s grocery scene is evolving with the debut of The Fresh Market, which opened its first store in the area last week south of the city in Mount Lebanon. The city of Pittsburgh will also get its first Bottom Dollar store by year’s end in the east end neighborhood of Garfield, which represents the first grocery store to open there in decades.

As The Fresh Market’s fourth location in Pennsylvania, its 19,000-square-foot Mt. Lebanon, Pa., store expands the Greensboro, N.C.-based specialty retailer’s reach in the Keystone State. Craig Carlock, president/CEO, said: “We look forward to introducing The Fresh Market’s concept of quality perishables, excellent customer service and a unique atmosphere to an expanded customer base, and we look forward to offering neighboring communities a rewarding new food shopping experience.”

Highlights of the new store include an in-store bakery that produces 30 freshly baked breads and 14 different pie varieties daily; a full-service meat counter; a wide selection of ready-to-serve entrées; seafood delivered to the store several times per week; and more than 200 imported and domestic cheeses and a produce department with more than 400 items, including a large organic selection.

The Fresh Market, Inc. currently operates 133 stores in 25 states and plans continued expansion throughout the country.

Meanwhile, the forthcoming Bottom Dollar, a subsidiary of the Belgian conglomerate Delhaize Group, is set to open at 5200 Penn Ave. and will mark the community of Garfield’s first grocery store to open in decades.

The store’s approval faced a series of delays following protests from local residents concerned about the store’s proximity to neighboring homes. The complaints have since been resolved, according to the Bloomfield-Garfield Corp., a community-based revitalization group.

The proposed 18,000-square-foot Bottom Dollar is under development by Commercial Properties Inc., and is expected to begin construction as early as August and be completed in early 2014.