'bfresh' grocery coming to 240 Elm St -- Official city press release

[ron_newman]

I just got this from the city:

Fresh Foods Store Coming to Davis Square’s 240 Elm St. Building

Urban grocer’s model aims to focus on fresh foods

An urban grocer, Fresh Formats LLC, has filed building permit applications to open a fresh foods market at 240 Elm St. in Davis Square, the site of the former Social Security Building. Ongoing renovation of the building is underway and it is expected that the 11,000-square-foot ground floor will be a neighborhood market later this year.

The building, which is currently vacant, also includes 20,000 sf of office space on the two upper floors that will be occupied by Davis Square Architects, a long-time tenant prior to the renovation, and others. An additional 2,400 sf of office space in the basement will be leased separately.

“Neighborhood residents have been clamoring for a grocer to complement the neighborhood’s specialty grocers including McKinnon’s and Dave’s Fresh, so this is welcome news,” said Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone. “To have the kind of truly livable squares our community values, we need neighborhood grocery stores, as well as services that cover the full range of community needs from banks, salons, and eateries to pharmacies and doctor’s offices. It’s this mix that helps transform a simple business district into a vibrant town center.”

Fresh Formats LLC is an Ahold company. They developed the bfresh® concept which debuted in Allston, Mass. September 2015. bfresh emphasizes fresh foods including organic produce along with natural and bulk foods and conventional groceries. The site plans received by the City also include an onsite bakery and a “Little Kitchen™” offering prepared foods made from scratch.

“My hope is that we not only have a new fresh foods market in sight, but a new community partner that will be a good neighbor in the square,” said Ward 6 Alderman Lance Davis. “With the loss of places like Farmer’s Bounty, it’s good to see another grocer coming to help anchor the heart of the square.”

Jackie Rossetti
Deputy Director of Communications
City of Somerville
93 Highland Ave.
Somerville, MA 02143
Office: 617-625-6600 ext. 2614
Cell: 857-636-2396
www.somervillema.gov

Comments

[lancedavisward6.livejournal.com]

Thanks for posting, Ron!

[ron_newman]

I'm glad the city finally put out this press release. (I wonder if this comment was the reason for it.)

[fefie.livejournal.com]

I'm also glad the news is finally official. (Oddly I cannot find this press release on the City website, FB, or twitter.)

It'll be great to have a grocery store in Davis Sq again.

[ron_newman]

Neither could I, at least not when I posted this. The city communications office sent it directly to me (and also added me to their "press" list for future releases).

[courtney (from livejournal.com)]

I received it directly, as well.

[teko.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the news! Good to see this finally put down in black and white.

While I had been interested in the Crunch Gym that was originally going in on the 2nd floor, I'm kind of glad that it's just office space. Shopping at the CVS in the square can be a bizarre experience, hearing constant SLAM BASH CRASH from the gym upstairs.

[ron_newman]

Indeed. Jim from the CVS store was at one of the early 240 Elm Street community meetings and expressed concern about that.

[pywaket.livejournal.com]

The Crunch gym was an intriguing option, but now that City Sports Club has changed their business format from being high-end and expensive, to $20 for a basic, one-club membership, I'm a lot less sad we didn't get Crunch.

I have to say I've never actually been able to hear the equipment in CVS from BSC - I do often stop in after workouts and I've never noticed any noise - the noisy stuff (weights, etc. are all on the third floor, or on the right side of the building). Maybe it's different when classes are going on in the big room - that *is* over the CVS...

[ron_newman]

I usually hear the crashing noises when I'm near the back of the store, around the prescription counter. I'm amazed that this doesn't break any of the glass bottles around there.

[teko.livejournal.com]

It's loudest in the morning, as Ron says, back by the prescription area. Huge slamming/crashing sounds coming from above. I have no idea what they're doing up there but it isn't yoga.

I'm curious about the gym; the lowest rate displayed on their site is $40 (for a 1-year commitment) or $45 (for month to month). What's the $20 rate?

[emcicle.livejournal.com]

agreed, though I also hear it around 5-530pm, which is when i'm likely to be picking up meds from the pharmacy.

[secretlyironic.livejournal.com]

The heaviest of the free weights are there - the deadlift and squat stations, the big dummbells, etc. There's a sign saying not to drop weights and not to load more than 225 lbs on the deadlift bar, but ... why do they even have bumper plates then? If you're doing Olympic or powerlifting, then something heavy is going to hit the floor, if only by accident.

[pywaket.livejournal.com]

See my comment to serious_noir below.

[serious-noir.livejournal.com]

"...but now that City Sports Club has changed their business format from being high-end and expensive, to $20 for a basic, one-club membership"

I'm confused – do you mean Boston Sports Club? They charge $40/mo with a 1 yr commitment or $45/mo for month by month.

Do they have some other deal? Or is there a "City Sports Club"? If so, where is it?

[pywaket.livejournal.com]

Sorry, "City Sports Club" is the name of the parent company - it's the BSC in Davis.

It may have been a limited time offer - I can't find it on their website anymore, but last summer, they were offering a $19.99 a month single club membership with nothing but the basics (no towel service, so you had to bring your own, and a few other limitations).

If you're interested, I'd suggest going in and haggling with them - gyms are notorious for making deals if you show up in person. Especially in the springtime and summer, when people stop signing up for memberships because it's nice enough to run outside instead of inside on treadmills :-)

[ron_newman]

Here's the bfresh web site. They have only two stores so far, the first of which is on Harvard Ave. in Allston. The other one is in Fairfield, CT.

bfresh's parent company, Royal Ahold, also owns Stop & Shop.

[emcicle.livejournal.com]

looking at their sale circular, the prices seem reasonable. i'll be happy to see this actually happen.

[sd210.livejournal.com]

Their sale circular is advertising "buy one, get one free" Nutella. They had me at hello...

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

This is very good news! I never really thought it would happen, but now I'm looking forward to it.

I think the office space is also good news, instead of more luxury condo$. People working jobs in Davis mean more daytime (breakfast/lunch) business for the square's restaurants and shops. That's a plus.

[lancedavisward6.livejournal.com]

Hear, hear!

[courtney (from livejournal.com)]

Hi Ron,

I also posted the press release here, as well. Feel free to delete it.

[ron_newman]

Oops, looks like we posted at the same time. I'll delete your copy because it doesn't (yet) have any comments.

[courtney (from livejournal.com)]

Brilliant minds think alike ;)

[pywaket.livejournal.com]

Count me among the happy - I would have probably preferred the Roche Bros, but that wasn't to be.

I've never quite understood why Trader Joe's hasn't opened a store in DS, or at least nearby. I'm no business analyst, but it seems like a perfect fit. I know they've said parking is an issue, but the Coolidge corner location has almost no parking and the one on Boylston St has none at all, and both of those do really well. I end up going to the one at Alewife, but most of the time I take a car, instead of a bike, because even though it's only two miles, the last bit up and over the train tracks on Alewife Brook Parkway is no fun, and kind of a pain as well (use the sidewalk, which is in crappy shape, and you're competing with pedestrians in a narrow space, or take the road and have the crap scared out of you). And it's too far to be a convenient walk - one in Davis would do a booming business, I'd think.

I think dealing with the city is the real issue. That's what killed Roche Bros. and I hope Fresh
Formats has the stomach for dealing with King Joe C, and we don't lose that as well.

Best of luck to FF - I hope they make it.

[ron_newman]

This is a much nicer, though slightly longer, way to bike (or walk) from Davis Square to Trader Joe's. It avoids Route 16 entirely. Google Maps won't send you this way by default, though.

I don't think the city was an obstacle to Roche Bros. The ZBA approved them with little opposition. The landlord failed to reach agreement on easements with neighboring property owners, and then pieces of exterior wall started falling into the street. Eventually the city demanded that the landlord fix up the building properly, but Roche Bros. didn't want to wait.

[fortlotus.livejournal.com]

I'd love a TJs near Davis Sq. The other locations are inconvenient for me, and I really miss being able to go there regularly.

[rozhinka.livejournal.com]

I shop at Trader Joe's and am very glad it's not coming to Davis. You can walk from Davis to the Alewife store in 30 minutes, or walk to Mass Ave and take the 77 to the Arlington store in the same amount of time. IMHO, the worthy products at TJ's are the non-perishables, so one can stock up and not go frequently.

[pywaket.livejournal.com]

I don't understand why you'd be specifically *glad* they aren't coming - what's bad about having another option. What would you prefer? There's plenty of good, fresh food (the dairy section is quite good, and so are the fruits and vegetables) at TJs, and 1 hour round trip isn't exactly convenient, especially if you involve the ever-reliable MBTA...

[rozhinka.livejournal.com]

Maybe "glad" was poor word choice. I like Trader Joe's for the many things they do well, but my preference for "another option" would be to expand our food-buying ecosystem with a different vendor, not yet another instance of the same corporation, even though it would be more convenient for me to stroll there in 10 minutes instead of hustle there in 25. I'm not thrilled by having a Whole Foods every two-three miles either.

[pywaket.livejournal.com]

The thing is, this new place is nothing but a smaller, more expensive Stop and Shop. It's not like we lack for those, either.

I'm with you on the Whole Foods thing. I don't see why we need so many of them.

TJ's is much more reasonably priced, and a good option for people who can't afford WF. It's not like we're drowning in a sea of them. There's two at opposite ends of Cambridge, neither are particularly easy to get to on the T, and one in Arlington. In general, I've found them to be cheaper than anyone but Market Basket. And none of the other options to TJs opens stores at a size that could fit anywhere in Davis.

[fortlotus.livejournal.com]

This sounds like great news! Thanks for sharing, Ron!

[courtney (from livejournal.com)]

Hmmm...looks like they won't get their certificate of occupancy until the city gets paid: http://bit.ly/2087dfe

[pywaket.livejournal.com]

Great news! Looks like Joe's gonna try to shake down the business for another $138K:

http://somerville.wickedlocal.com/news/20160406/somerville-officials-demand-138k-in-labor-costs-after-collapse-before-grocery-moves-into-240-elm-st

And they wonder why people and businesses keep leaving...