Online Grocer FreshDirect Readies 1st Physical Store
While many retailers went from the physical to online space, another player is moving the opposite way. The online grocer FreshDirect is opening its first brick-and-mortar location, dubbed FreshDirect on Main.
The store at 70 Main Street in Southampton, N.Y., will welcome shoppers during the busy Memorial Day weekend and stay open through the end of December before the quieter winter season. Befitting its surroundings in The Hamptons, the store is designed to look and feel like a farmer’s market, with elements like wooden pallets, crates and natural textures and an assortment that includes a variety of produce and specialty foods sourced from local farmers and artisans, as well as small-batch cheeses, grab-and-go prepared foods and wine and beer.
Shoppers can pick up beverages to enjoy while they shop at an onsite Jack’s Stir Brew coffee counter. They can also linger a while at in-store events including ice cream socials and wine and cheese tastings.
[RELATED: FreshDirect Relaunches Service in Pennsylvania, Delaware Counties]
The expansion goes beyond the new physical store. In June, FreshDirect is hosting a series of larger events at a house in East Hampton. Guests can sign up for pizza-making courses and kids’ classes at that site, among other activities.
During the grand-opening period in Southampton, shoppers can pick up a limited-edition Hamptons-inspired FreshDirect tote. The grocer is also handing out free mini loaves of banana bread and will give the first 100 customers in line this weekend a $100 gift card to use for their next online purchase.
On that note, FreshDirect will complement its first local physical store presence in its 25-year history with continued delivery across all areas of the Hamptons, Montauk, North Fork, Shelter Island and Tri-State area with as-soon-as-next-day delivery. The company is exploring opportunities for same-day delivery for the Hamptons region directly from FreshDirect on Main.
The seasonal FreshDirect on Main Street will be open seven days a week from 6:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Founded in 2002 and now part of the Getir family, FreshDirect revealed in 2022 that it would it was exiting the Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., areas to focus on markets in the metro New York area, which the e-grocer identified as its “biggest opportunity for future growth and expansion.” The company added that it was “excited to unlock new ZIP codes throughout the Tri-State service footprint and offer the freshest, highest-quality food to even more customers, with the unrivaled ease, convenience and speed FreshDirect is known for.” At its peak, FreshDirect offered grocery delivery in seven states: New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia.
