Supervalu set to test smaller format

MELROSE PARK, Ill. Supervalu will test a new small-store format when it opens a sawed-off Jewell-Osco store in the Chicago area later this year.

Dubbed ‘Urban Fresh,’ the 16,000-square-foot store will open in the Lincoln Park section of Chicago this fall. The store will emphasize ready-to-go meals along with a selection of fresh meats, seafood and produce.

“The smaller-store format is an exciting complement to our larger, more traditional grocery stores,” said Keith Nielsen, president of Jewell-Osco, which currently has 32 stores in the Chicago area.

‘Urban Fresh’ will be the latest in a growing number of small-format grocery stores launched in the United States during the past year. Tesco opened its first Fresh & Easy store last December in Los Angeles and currently has 65 stores in Southern California and the Southwest. Safeway opened its first ‘The Market’ store in Long Beach, Calif., in late May and Wal-Mart plans to open small ‘Marketside’ grocery stores in Phoenix this fall.