Supermarket/Grocery

Publix Super Markets has promoted Bob McGarrity, director of construction, to VP of facilities.    McGarriity replaces 42-year company veteran Dave Duncan, who has announced his decision to retire effective Dec. 31, 2016.    In other appointments, VP of real estate Jeff Chamberlain will be promoted to senior VP, overseeing real estate and facilities, effective Jan. 1, 2017.  

Las Vegas’s first major sports franchise, the National Hockey League’s Black Knights, will build a practice facility in the Summerlin master-plan community west of the Strip.  

One of the country’s oldest online grocers just secured a major cash infusion to help it expand its services.   FreshDirect has received a $189 million investment, led by JPMorgan Asset Management, that will be used to launch its grocery delivery service in more cities, to expand new business units and incubate others, reported RECode.   

Washington, D.C., is gaining a new grocery delivery service — one that is powered by rolling drones.   With municipal regulators approving the use of rolling delivery drones for urban deliveries, these bots will deliver groceries to mainly single- or double-occupant households, according to TechCrunch.com.  

A food hall-cum-retail bazaar called Canal Street Market is set to open at the northern edge of Chinatown in downtown Manhattan, just south of SoHo and Tribeca.   Developer Philip Chong is claiming the site will be the first combined food and retail experience in this section of New York. A food hall will feature about a dozen options, including Yori Nori, a new concept from the owners of Korila and Mokbar, plus Davey’s Ice Cream and Boba Guy.  

Springfield, Illinois-based Jared Commercial has acquired the Chippewa Center in St. Louis from an investment partnership controlled by Pace Properties. The purchase price was $10.6 million.   The 147,920-sq.-ft. center is located in the densely populated Shrewsbury neighborhood of St. Louis. Chief tenants are Shop ‘n Save, Value City Furniture, and Dollar Tree.   The deal was brokered for Jared Commercial by Mid-America Real Estate.

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The narrative is well established: Online sales are rising dramatically and having a major impact on brick-and-mortar retailers. The facts, however, are not quite so cut and dried. Internet sales still account for a remarkably small overall percentage of U.S. retail sales. A quarter century after Amazon’s first shipment was mailed, the Web accounts for less than 9% of U.S. retail sales. With sales of $500 billion, Walmart alone is the equivalent of six Amazons.  

Photo: George Fox   Divaris Real Estate has named George Fox VP of sales and leasing at its Virginia Beach office. He will represent both landlords and tenants in North Carolina and Virginia, with a primary focus on the Hampton Roads market.  

It’s no trick: Halloween spending is at an all-time high.   As Americans continue to splurge on their favorite candy and costumes in preparation for the upcoming Halloween season, the National Retail Federation’s annual survey reported that spending is expected to reach $8.4 billion — the highest level in the study’s history.  

Eataly is taking its Italian food marketplace format to Canada.   The company announced plans to open its first Canadian location in early 2019, as an anchor tenant of the newly renovated Manulife Centre in Toronto.   Eataly, which combines food markets, restaurants, and eateries, will span three stories for a total space of 50,000 sq. ft.