Joe Rocco
A decade ago, growth in the grocery business was all about “supercenters” on city fringes. Inside Madison, Copps had a near lock on the more manageably sized stores around town. The only mainstream grocery store downtown was Capitol Centre Market.
In the past 10 years, there have been gains and losses. Costco entered Madison in 2008; warehouse-style Cub Foods closed its last two stores in 2012.
More crucially, smaller stores are opening. Fresh Madison Market moved into the “Lucky” building near campus in 2010. Iowa-based Hy-Vee opened three stores. Metcalfe’s Market opened a second location, as did the Willy Street Co-op (which is now looking at a third). Metro Market (like Copps, owned by Roundy’s) at Grandview Commons is a model of a smaller suburban store with urban amenities.
And now the East Washington corridor is gaining a full-service store with the opening of Festival Foods on April 8. It’s the anchor tenant in the Galaxie complex, a mixed-use development of apartments and offices in the 800 block.
Instead of warehouse stocking and low-low prices as the draw, Madison’s new stores are offering attractive interiors and prepared foods — even dine-in options — as incentives. And Festival’s new store has upped the game yet again. It’s going the extra mile to cater to busy young shoppers, offering such amenities as babysitting and dog crates for canines who accompany their owners to the store.
This is Festival’s first “urban” market location (the chain has 21 other Wisconsin sites, with the greatest concentration in the Fox Valley area).
Festival Foods CEO Mark Skogen says the 55,000-square-foot store will cater to greater “grab and go” business than their others, with more prepared foods and “handbasket” shopping.
Madison store director Paul Anderson notes some busy shoppers — including Epic employees who live in the Galaxie or across the street in the Constellation and travel a lot — don’t want to keep a lot of food on hand. Hence more frequent, shorter trips to the store. Anderson speculates some customers might stop by three times a day.
On a tour of Festival two weeks before its opening, Anderson shows off the extensive salad and soup bar areas, a hot bar and full-service deli counter. These will be open 7 a.m.-10 p.m. and could feasibly function as a cafeteria of sorts for nearby residents and workers.
There’s a contemporary dining area, too, in a mezzanine space Anderson calls “the Mezz.” Its floor-to-ceiling windows overlook the corner of Livingston and East Wash. Naturally, there’s free Wi-Fi, but also a small bar to serve wine, cocktails and beer. The space seats 100; an outdoor patio area will seat 25.
The Mezz also overlooks the grocery aisles, enhanced by tree trunk columns made from ash trees recently removed from Tenney Park. Beams are of red pine from the Wisconsin River valley (wood work is by Whole Trees Architecture of Madison). The place can seem like a hybrid between a supermarket and a National Park lodge.
Linda Falkenstein
Festival Foods store director Paul Anderson preps for customers.
For today’s grocery market, presentation may be as important as content, and Festival looks terrific.
But in a smaller store, merchandise needs to be curated. “Our industry as a whole is overdone,” Skogen says. “If you think about ketchup, I don’t even know how many there are, but they duplicate themselves. It just becomes ridiculous.” With the store paring down the selection, shoppers with less time for shopping and cooking can more easily focus.
The store also caters to shoppers with a “tot spot,” where parents can leave children supervised while they shop. Livestream video will be shown on flat screens mounted around the store, so parents can check on their tykes. Festival also provides lockable dog kennels, so shoppers don’t have to tie them to a tree.
Festival is not alone in its interest in central Madison. One of two main plans for Judge Doyle Square — the Beitler proposal — includes a 13,911-square-foot Mariano’s Fresh Market. Union Corners is slated to feature a 28,000-square-foot Fresh Thyme Farmer’s Market (despite its name, it is a grocery store) as part of new development there. And the Madison Public Market is headed for East Washington at First Street.
Brendon Smith, communication director for the Willy St. Co-op, says “we’ve seen the grocery market expand and contract, and we’re definitely in an expansion mode now.”
Smith notes that it’s been so long since any new stores have come into the area near the co-op, it’s not surprising that one finally has. “From the customer’s point of view, it just makes things better. It makes our game sharper and gives them more choices,” says Smith.
Festival’s Skogen says the co-op, with its local and organic focus, “is relevant and drives some of our decisions” but that “we won’t be them.” Still, this Festival will offer more organic and natural items than any of its other stores.
Steve McKenzie, who has been looking for a larger location for his Jenifer Street Market on the near east side, says the Madison market is “very competitive. Madison shoppers are getting their best opportunity right now.
“It’s a far cry from what it was 15 years ago, when grocery stores were closing left and right and neighborhoods were campaigning, trying to get stores.”
McKenzie still sees a large draw from Woodman’s: “Socio-economically, you cannot ignore the fact that you have Woodman’s on Milwaukee Street, one of the largest stores in Madison.”
“There’s never been more change in our industry than there is today,” says Skogen, referencing the debate over whether customers want smaller, or bigger, stores. “I don’t think it’s going only in one direction.
