SHELTON, CT — Fresh produce has been an important part of Adams Hometown Market for a very long time, but one year after a major remodeling project at the location here, produce has taken on a larger and more enhanced role than ever before.
The Adams store here in Shelton, an upscale community in the southwestern part of Connecticut, is about 15,000 square feet, and the produce department comprised about 4 percent of that space prior to the remodeling, according to John Talento, store manager. But while the store’s total square footage remained the same after the remodeling, the space allotted to fresh produce jumped to about 8 percent, he said.
Dan McAllister of Bozzuto’s Inc. flanked by John Talento and Bob Pitts of Adams Hometown Market in front of a produce display at the Adams Hometown Market in Shelton, CT.
And in terms of sales, produce now represents about 13 percent of total store sales, up from 10-11 percent prior to the remodeling project, he noted.
The remodeling project began around early April of 2018 and took about two months to complete. The store remained open during the project. The store is open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days per week.
Adams, which is owned by wholesale grocer Bozzuto’s Inc., consists of 15 stores — 10 in Connecticut, two in Massachusetts, two in New York and one in Rhode Island. Bozzuto’s provides the vast majority of all the items at Adams, and offers “additional merchandising support on existing and new projects,” said Dan McAllister, a merchandiser for the wholesale grocer.
Adams also has some local deals in season for items such as tomatoes, sweet corn, green and yellow squash, peppers and apples.
“We increased our focus on the perishables, especially produce,” said Talento, who has been at this location for one year and who has been with Adams for three years. “The produce department itself was doubled in size. New energy-efficient cases were added, and fixtures and lighting were updated. The new lighting enhances the department, and makes all the produce look more vibrant.”
The produce department is the first area that shoppers see when entering the store, so it was imperative that the new produce department set the right tone.
“The produce department is full of vibrant colors,” said Bob Pitts, produce manager, who has been at this location since October 2018 and who previously was a produce specialist with Adams for 20 years. “It puts you in a good mood when you walk in. And the produce department is very shoppable.”
The two men added, “Consumers are looking for freshness. We want to be the best in perishables. That’s what draws the customers.”
As part of the increased emphasis on produce, the store is handling more organic items in response to consumer requests. In fact, “we doubled the number of organic items and increased the variety as well,” they stated.
Regarding another interest among consumers, the Adams store is putting increased attention on locally grown items. “Once locally grown items are available, customers look for them,” the men said. “They like the locally grown produce, and they want to support the local area.”
Consumers also like convenience, of course, and Adams is responding to that. “A lot of customers are asking for easy meals, so we have more options for busy parents, such as ready-to-go salads and prepared meals,” said Pitts, adding that the store “also features precut fruits and vegetables that are cut in-store,” such as precut carrots, precut celery, pre-sliced apples and a stir-fry mix.
The produce aisles were offering the full assortment of fruits and vegetables that are standard around mid-May when The Produce News visited here, but “we will be transitioning to our summer fruit items in just a couple of days,” the men said Tuesday, May 14. That includes apricots and nectarines from California and peaches from the South.
