West Snyderville Basin residents have likely noticed the new Maceys in lower Pinebrook’s Quarry Village. The name changed in August, and now there’s a grand opening celebration on Nov. 8.
The floors are redone, walls redecorated and aisles reorganized. A fan-favorite addition is the soft-serve ice cream at a cafe near the old cart collection area.
KPCW caught up with shopper and Summit Park resident Tina Comeau, chocolate cone in hand.
“I'm glad that they added something so that it tempts me to get a cone, instead of buying a whole thing of ice cream,” Comeau said. “It's a good thing for me.”
But changes inevitably attract criticism. Some neighbors miss the walkway at Fresh Market that cut the aisles in half, like it does in Park City.
“I'm 74 years old. I liked having the aisle split so that you didn't have to go from the front of the store to the back of the store to turn the corner,” Comeau said.
The aisle layout may be for psychological reasons.
As the food magazine Bon Appétit reports, grocery stores make the least profit off of the center aisles, so they need ways to keep customers there for longer. Sometimes that means longer aisles, other times it means changing the floor surface.
American grocery stores are typically designed with key items—produce, meat, then dairy—in a counterclockwise ring around the store. That makes it easier for right-handed shoppers to put items in the cart.
Macey’s and Fresh Market are no different when it comes to the counterclockwise path. And prices are similar, as they share the same parent company.
KPCW confirmed basics like eggs, milk and bread are the same price in Pinebrook as they are at the Park City Fresh Market right now.
“We are dedicated to providing the lowest possible prices that we can to our guests and that will not change,” Macey’s spokesperson Elizabeth Barnett said.
A Macey’s employee will sing the national anthem to kick off the grand opening and ribbon cutting Nov. 8 at 10 a.m. The president of Macey’s stores will speak, the Pinebrook store director will introduce the store’s team and there will be free samples from local vendors.
The following Saturday, there will be a charcuterie lesson and tasting too.
“We're gonna have some of our local delicatessen vendors up there talking about how to craft the perfect charcuterie board,” Barnett said. “There'll be giveaways and sampling. It should be a lot of fun.
That event will be Nov. 11.
