Convenience Stores

Tucson, Ariz. — Lee & Associates Arizona has negotiated the $24.8 million sale of the River Center, a 117,563-sq.-ft. shopping center anchored by Whole Foods and Petco. Located on East River Road in the Catalina Foothills of northeastern Tucson, the center posted a cap rate of 5.5%.

Lee & Associates Arizona represented the buyer, Global Retail Investors LLC, a subsidiary of First Washington Realty of Bethesda, Md., and the seller, River Center Canada.

River Center was constructed in 1986 and remodeled in 1997 and 2013.

New York --- Brookshire Brothers, based in Lufkin, Texas, has entered into an agreement to David's Supermarkets, a 25-store chain based in North Central Texas. Terms were not disclosed.

"We feel like these family-owned stores align with our core value that we are a celebration of family and community," stated Jerry Johnson, president and CEO of Brookshire Brothers. 

Brookshire Brothers operates 123 outlets including grocery stores, convenience stores, free standing pharmacy, tobacco and petro locations.

Minneapolis – Target plans to open a new store in Liberty Township, Ohio, in October 2014. The 130,000-sq.-ft. store will offer a selection of fresh produce, fresh packaged meat and pre-packaged baked goods, as well as a Starbucks and a Target Pharmacy.

A 20,000-sq.-ft. store called TargetExpress is set to become the newest addition to the retailer’s portfolio of formats when it opens this July in downtown Minneapolis.

In an interview with The New York Times, Target EVP for property development John Griffith said Target signed a lease last week for a space on the ground floor of an apartment building called the Marshall which is under construction near the University of Minnesota campus. The store is scheduled to open July 27.

New York -- Target Corp. has signed a lease to open a 20,000-sq.-ft. location in Minneapolis that will serve as a test of a new format called TargetExpress, the New York Times reported. The new unit, considerably smaller than CityTarget’s 80,000- to 125,000-sq.-ft. footprint, would be the chain’s smallest store to date.

Hershey is launching a new line of chocolate spreads, called Hershey's Spreads. The spreads will be available in three varieties: Chocolate, Chocolate with Almond and Chocolate with Hazelnut.

Dallas -- Corner Bakery Cafe rounded out 2013 with a multi-unit restaurant development agreement and plans to open eight new restaurants in the Sacramento area with new franchise partner East Bay Restaurants, Pleasanton, Calif.

East Bay Restaurants, which owns and operates 48 Burger King and seven Taco Bell restaurants, plans to open its first cafe in 2014 and the remaining sites over the next five years.

Successful leaders and companies bring more than unique products or services to market — they consistently tap into 10 key growth enablers outlined in a new book by veteran CPG executive and growth strategist Dan Mack.