Community Corner
Northfield Target Could Expand; Starbucks Not Planned for Now
The Northfield Target store might be on the list of stores to be renovated with what is called the "Expanded Fresh Food Layout." Also, Patch learns that Starbucks has no plans to bring a store to Northfield.
Will the store soon be selling more grocery items?
Maybe. Or maybe not.
Northfield’s Target might be in the running this year to be remodeled with what the Minneapolis-based corporation calls its “Expanded Fresh Food Layout.”
Find out what's happening in Northfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Jamie Bastian, a member of Target’s communications staff, would neither confirm nor deny that Northfield is on the list of stores up for renovation. But, he did mention the food layout concept when asked by Patch to respond to a rumor that a SuperTarget would replace the current store.
“We are planning to remodel select stores in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area in 2012 with our Expanded Fresh Food Layout,” he wrote in an email to Patch. “However at this time, I am unable to confirm specific stores or timing. Once information is available, I will be in touch.”
Find out what's happening in Northfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
WHAT IS THE EXPANDED FRESH FOOD LAYOUT?
According to Target Corporation's “2011 Remodel Program” document, the fresh food layout provides space in a Target store to offer a larger selection of food items—including meat, produce and baked goods—without expanding its building.
“Our expanded fresh food layout offers around 90 percent of the food categories found in a SuperTarget with about 60 percent of the items, in approximately half of the space devoted to food in a SuperTarget,” the document says.
Cost for such a renovation is $3 million, according to the document.
“When we remodel a store to incorporate the expanded fresh food layout, rather than increasing the size of the building, we add space for food by eliminating the least-productive items in other categories throughout the store, using a customized approach unique to each location,” says the document.
The fresh food layout was launched in two Minnesota stores in 2008. It now appears in hundreds of stores nationwide.
Last month, an article appeared in the Sioux City (IA) Journal about a Target store there being renovated to feature the fresh food layout.
NO STARBUCKS COMING TO NORTHFIELD
In working on getting to the bottom of the SuperTarget rumor circulating around Northfield, Patch has been able to dispell another bit of retail gossip: Starbucks is not currently looking to bring a store to Northfield.
A member of the Starbucks media relations team emailed Patch with that information Tuesday morning.
"Starbucks is always looking for great locations to better meet the needs of their customers and reach others who may not have the opportunity to visit Starbucks stores," the email from Starbucks says. "At this time, there are no plans to bring a store to Northfield, MN."
What are your thoughts about the Northfield Target potentially being renovated to include the Expanded Fresh Food Layout? Tell us in comments.
