Well, as an old song once stated: “It’s been a long December…” A busy Christmas season has put a bit of a crimp in my productivity so honestly as I sit down to type out this article I feel a bit, like I’m playing catch up for the month. It seems all the topics I’ve been meaning to cover are the same ones I’ve been mulling over for the last couple of weeks, so I guess I’ll start with my oldest subject first.
Super 1 Foods is essentially the Brookshire’s company’s answer to competition like Wal-Mart or Sam’s Club. It’s not exactly wholesale food, so don’t expect to leave with boxes of purchases you’ll never actually eat. However it is probably a bit larger than some of the other Brookshire’s stores but with lower prices and without some of the frills one might expect to find at the Rice road location, or at the more expensive market like Tyler favorite, Fresh.
Of course I bring this up because the Grocery Company has opened a new Super 1 Foods in place of an aging Brookshire’s, located on the west loop in Tyler. They simultaneously closed the older more run- down Super 1 it replaced. I’m no expert but this seemed like a really smart move to me. Rather than repair two stores that apparently weren’t making the grade, why not give one a name change and a facelift, close the other, thus saving some money, and step up your game against the competition, (meaning Wal-Mart), which is nearly right across the street?
Inside the store the layout has actually not changed that much, except that they’re using the space much better. They also gave the interior a real upgrade. It looks great, very clean, new paint, new ceilings; overall it’s a much nicer, more upscale feel. The selection is bigger too. Shelving stands higher, (nearly to the roof in places), and there are no more wide open spaces with little or no product. While I’ve not shopped there a lot as yet, the prices seem lower than the other Brookshire’s stores and closer to those of Wal-Mart’s grocery. Couple that with the fact that the store requires less wandering around than its competitor, and the new Super 1 should take back some of the business the old store lost when the challenger moved in across the street.
