Schnucks Readies to Open New Flagship Store in Des Peres

After 46 years of serving customers in its present location, Schnucks Des Peres will close at 9 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 14, and reopen at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 15 at its new location, 12332 Manchester Road (next to West County Mall). The relocation of this landmark facility marks the beginning of a new era for the family-owned grocery company.

At 74,000-square-feet, officials from the St. Louis-based family held retailer are describing the combo food/pharmacy store as being like no other. “Des Peres will be a flagship store in our company because of the atypical offerings it will include,” said Scott Schnuck, chairman and CEO of the eponymous regional retailer. “Our customers will find the same quality grocery and pharmacy products and services, but because we were able to build this store from the ground up, we’ve been able to include additional amenities,” among which includes a Kaldi’s coffee shop with WiFi connections, a new cheese room and wine display, a walk-in beer cave cooler, an aged beef cooler, a Schnucks Cooks demonstration station, two restaurant counter seating areas and a table-top kitchen house wares department.

“We are particularly excited to see our customers’ reaction to the first Schnucks Cooks Cooking School, located on the mezzanine,” said Schnuck. “While this is our first venture into a classroom setting, teaching is something that comes naturally. Our grandmother’s kitchen is really where it all started for us.”

In development for more than two years, Schnucks cooking school’s “state-of-the-art kitchen and classroom is the perfect way to showcase the food expertise Schnucks has cultivated over the years,” added Todd Schnuck, Schnucks’ president and COO. “Our goal is to retain all of the characteristics that make us who we are in the grocery business – quality products, variety, service and value – and build on them to create the ultimate grocery shopping experience for our customers and their families.”

Store manager and 38-year Schnucks veteran Steve Ryan agreed, noting that the store will allow customers to take advantage of the very latest food industry trends. “Because of the growing interest in wine selections and wine and food pairings, our customers will be excited to learn that our in-store wine list is now upwards of 1,700 reserve selections from around the world,” said Ryan. “The collection is managed by our company’s own certified specialists of wine, but we can also locate wines by request.”

What’s more, the new Des Peres will feature a number of sustainability concepts that Ryan said have been “worked into the dramatic design. There is an internal trash compactor and water saving fixtures and lighting throughout the store, including the sky lights, allow for expanded energy management and conservation. The Des Peres community has afforded us a unique opportunity to design a store that will serve a variety of needs from grocery shopping to food education,” Ryan continued. “Our engineering and design teams have been able to take everything we’ve learned about the grocery business and about building stores and apply it to this floor plan ensuring a fun and entertaining ‘food experience’ that will surpass everyone’s expectations.”

Scott Schnuck concurred. “It’s a long way from the 1,000-square-foot store my grandparents opened in 1939, but in many ways, Schnucks Des Peres is a return to our company’s roots and a great way to celebrate our 70th anniversary.”

Summit Development Group is developing the Des Peres Corners shopping center. The Schnucks Engineering department partnered with api(+) of Tampa, Fla. and general contractor Brinkman Constructors of Chesterfield, Mo. for store design and construction.

Schnuck Markets, Inc. operates 106 stores (including five Logli stores) and 103 pharmacies in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa, Tennessee and Mississippi.
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