Convenience Stores

New York -- Retail design consultancy and brand agency CBX has been retained by hunger relief organization Philabundance to design a prototype for Fare & Square, a not-for-profit grocery store slated to open this summer in Chester, Pa.

PLEASANTON, Calif. — Safeway is offering its customers the ability to earn reward points redeemable at participating Exxon or Mobil gas stations.

"Safeway listens to its shoppers, and we understand the importance of stretching grocery dollars," said Mir Aamir, president of customer loyalty and digital technologies at Safeway. "By teaming up with ExxonMobil, we're able to thank our customers with a loyalty program that makes two frequent and critical purchases lead to real savings."

New York  -- For the third consecutive year,  Subway came out on top on BrandIndex’s annual ranking of the most buzzed about U.S. brands. The BrandIndex Buzz Rankings compares “Buzz” scores for nearly 1,100 brands across 41 categories  to reveal the brands with the most positive Buzz in 2012.  

Subway had a Buzz score of 40.3. Online giant  Amazon came in at number two for the second year in a row, with a score of  36.8  Lowe’s was fifth, with a score of 32.7.

Eden Prairie, Minn. -- Bloomberg reported Tuesday that Supervalu Inc. has set the rate it will pay on $2.4 billion of loans to fund the sale of five supermarket chains to a Cerberus Capital Management LP-led investor group.

A six-year, $1.5 billion term will pay interest at 5.75 percentage points more than the London interbank offered rate with a 1.25 percent minimum, reported Bloomberg, citing an unnamed source.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Chief Super Market, an Ohio-based grocery chain, has selected Spartan Stores, a regional grocery distributor and retailer, as its primary wholesale grocery supplier.

Chief operates 12 stores in Northwest and West Central Ohio under the Chief and Rays banners. Spartan Stores stated that it will assume distribution to all of Chief’s banners for grocery, dairy, frozen, bakery and other products in March.

Columbus, Ohio – Bob Evans Farms said Tuesday it will divest its Mimi’s Café restaurant chain, selling it to LeDuff America – owner of Bruegger’s Bagels – for $50 million.

LeDuff America, a subsidiary of French bakery conglomerate Groupe LeDuff SA, will add the 145 Mimi’s units to its current portfolio of café-bakeries and coffee shops, including La Madeleine Country French Cafe, Brioche Doree, Bruegger's Bagels, Timothy's Coffee and Michel's Baguette.

MINNEAPOLIS — Target's remodeling effort has made its way to Detroit. The company announced Monday that it will add fresh grocery to stores in the area.

In addition to featuring a large selection of affordable fresh foods, the new layout will include reinventions in several other departments such as beauty, home, shoes and baby, aimed at providing guests with an exceptional one-stop shopping experience.

New York -- Target announced that it is expanding ongoing remodeling efforts to its stores in the Detroit area. Along with a much greater emphasis on grocery and fresh foods, the new layout include reinventions in several other departments such as beauty, home, shoes and baby.

Target’s  remodeled stores will include approximately 10,000 sq. ft. dedicated to fresh food, including a curated assortment of fresh produce, fresh packaged meat and pre-packaged baked goods, in addition to dry and frozen offerings.