Foodservice

Thibodaux, La. -- Southern grocery store operator Rouses Markets will take ownership of six former Belle Foods stores in Alabama from Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG), a retail-owner cooperative of which Rouses Markets is a member. AWG and its group of grocers and operators submitted the winning bid last week at the Belle Foods bankruptcy auction in Birmingham.

This is Rouses Markets' first expansion into Alabama. The company currently operates 38 stores in Louisiana and Mississippi. Three new stores in Louisiana were also recently announced.

Austin, Texas – Whole Foods Market is launching an in-store meat apprenticeship program for its team members. The intensive 18-month training program is designed to transform aspiring butchers into skilled meat cutters and teach them the company's standards for quality, animal welfare, food safety, and sanitation.

Bi-Lo Holdings and Harris Teeter announced plans to acquire select Piggly Wiggly-branded stores. Bi-Lo plans to acquire 22 Piggly Wiggly stores in South Carolina and coastal Georgia. Harris Teeter plans to purchase six locations and a future store location in the Charleston, S.C., area.

New York -- In separate announcements on Thursday, Bi-Lo Holdings and Harris Teeter on Thursday announced plans to acquire select Piggly Wiggly-branded stores.

Bi-Lo said it has entered into a definitive agreement with Piggly Wiggly Carolina Company to acquire 22 Piggly Wiggly stores in South Carolina and coastal Georgia.  

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

BOISE, IDAHO – Albertson’s Supermarkets plans to purchase grocery store and c-store operator the United Family. The transaction’s terms have not been released.

Washington, D.C. — Pret A Manger has leased a two-story retail building on Capital Hill in Washington, D.C., according to Douglas Development, the building’s owner. Located just two blocks from the U.S. Capitol Building, the restaurant will occupy 4,300-sq. ft. and offer two floors of indoor dining as well as a large outdoor patio.

Originally from London, Pret A Manger opened its first U.S. location in 2000 near the New York Stock Exchange. Today, there are over 300 Pret A Manger locations worldwide.

Dallas -- Corner Bakery Cafe continues to expand as it moves forward on its goal to more than double its U.S. footprint in the next three to four years. The company announced plans to expand in several areas, including Northeast Florida, Tampa, and San Diego.

Corner Bakery Cafe said it will open as many as ten new restaurants in Northeast Florida as part of a new multi-unit restaurant franchise agreement with Lee-Wesley Group. These will be the first Corner Bakery Cafes in the Northeast Florida area.

Phoenix — The Habit Burger Grill is opening its sixth Arizona location in Scottsdale in the Promenade at Scottsdale Road and Frank Lloyd Wright.

The Irvine, Calif.-based restaurant also operates more than 60 locations in California and two in Utah.

SEATTLE -- Amazon's grocery service might be making its way to New York next year, according to published reports.

Citing analysis from SunTrust analyst Robert Peck, EcommerceBytes.com reported that the Seattle-based online retailer may start offering Amazon Fresh in New York in 2014, based on his finding that the company had expanded into a New Jersey warehouse previously used by C&S Wholesale Grocers.

NEWBURYPORT, Mass. — Foodservice Industry veteran Mike Pennella has agreed to serve as an adviser to the board Dianne's Fine Desserts' board of directors.