Fresco y Más to Open 1st Caribbean-Focused Store
Southeastern Grocers Inc. (SEG) will open its newest Fresco y Más store in Lauderhill, Fla., on Dec. 5, growing the Hispanic-themed supermarket banner to 26 locations and offering for the first time a strong emphasis on products targeting non-Hispanic Caribbean customers.
The expanded variety of products will include fresh seafood; specialty meat cuts such as goat and oxtail; produce such as jackfruit and root vegetables; Caribbean seasonings, spices, snacks and beverages; and a hot-food section with popular Caribbean offerings.
“Listening to our customers, communities and associates plays a critical role in the evolution of our Fresco y Más banner,” noted Anthony Hucker, president and CEO of Jacksonville, Fla.-based Southeastern Grocers. “Our newest store in Lauderhill is a direct reflection of our customers’ feedback and incorporates the unique needs of this wonderful community.”
Continued Hucker: “We recognized a great need in the Lauderhill community for a grocery store that provides more than the traditional Hispanic offerings. Our newest Fresco y Más store is handcrafted with a wide selection of products tailored specifically to the Caribbean customer as a unique offering for our Lauderhill community. We are excited to give our customers a shopping experience they can count on by providing exceptional service and authentic products with the highest quality and lowest prices.”
Other store features include new custom façade signage, a bright-yellow color palette and bilingual store signage; a café with an ample seating area where customers can enjoy authentic Caribbean and Hispanic breakfast items, such as croquettes, Jamaican patties, pastries, drinks, and hot and cold sandwiches; a full-service Latin “Carnicería” (butcher shop) providing an expanded selection of fresh custom-cut meats, including Caribbean items such as goat and oxtail; a bakery department offering Hispanic, Caribbean and locally made baked goods, among them flan and custom tres leches cakes, made fresh daily; an “International” aisle with more than 1,200 international and Caribbean products arranged by country of origin; a Wall of Value section featuring weekly specials on items customers buy most; and a Dollar Zone with more than 1,000 staple items for$1.
The first 500 customers to show up at the grand-opening event will receive a free mystery gift card worth between $5 and $500. Also, to mark the rollout of the new SE Grocers rewards loyalty program, the first 500 customers will get a Fuel Rewards code to redeem and save 25 cents on their next fill-up at participating Shell branded stations, with a limit of 20 gallons. The free event will additionally feature food samples and live entertainment.
As part of the festivities, the Lauderhill Fresco y Más store will present a $2,000 donation to Dare to Care Ministries to aid the nonprofit’s work of providing almost 12,000 families a year with free food and basic necessities, and will host a checkout donation program to benefit local schools through Dec. 31, with the winning school to receive a $2,000 donation.
The Lauderhill Fresco y Más will be open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week.
Southeastern Grocers, parent company of Bi-Lo, Fresco y Más, Harveys Supermarket and Winn-Dixie grocery stores, operates throughout Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina. The company is No. 11 on Progressive Grocer’s 2018 Super 50 list of the top grocers in the United States.
