Grubhub

Grocery retail is going through a significant reinvention as it continues to move into the era of the consumer.

Grocery stores and restaurant experiences are rapidly evolving to keep customers coming through the door.

Top retail center developers and executives are all too aware of how the internet has redrawn the playing field, but all are equally convinced that centers fill needs digital experiences can’t begin to address.

Brick-and-mortar retailers struggling in traditional malls of yesteryear should look no further than the skies for inspiration.

Macy’s is exiting the chocolate business.   The department store retailer is selling its Frango chocolate brand to Garrett Brands, owner of Garrett Popcorn Shops, for an undisclosed amount.     Macy’s had inherited Frango, whose roots date back to 1918, from Marshall Field & Co., which was acquired by Macy’s in 2005.  

Sheetz just added a new item to its assortment — an app-based delivery service.    Through a partnership with OrderUp from Groupon, an on-demand restaurant food-delivery service, Sheetz now features a mobile ordering program for food and beverages. The service, which is available in its Morgantown, W.V., and State College, Pennsylvania, locations, allows shoppers to place orders and have them delivered to their doorstep.  

It’s official: The long-awaited Westfield World Trade Center in downtown Manhattan is finally ready to open its doors.   Likely to become of the city’s most visited retail destinations, the shopping center will celebrate its grand opening on Aug. 16. With 365,000 sq. ft. of retail space, it will feature more than 100 global and local fashion, beauty, lifestyle and technology brands.  

The retail tenant roster is filling out at the retail portion of Brickell City Centre, the billion-dollar residential and mixed-use project near completion in Miami. Signing on this week were Bath & Body Works, Pinko, Stitched, Suit Supply, and Victoria’s Secret.  

No, Trader Joe’s is not closing, and GrubHub is not launching a new ride share service called “Gruber.”

These are just two of the many fake news announcements circulating this April 1, a day traditionally dedicated to pranks and jokes. The retail-related April Fools hoax that by far has gotten the most attention, a false report that organic grocer Trader Joe’s would shutter all stores and discontinue all branded products by 2017, was actually released March 31.