By Berit Ollestad and Kevin Coughlin
A simple trip to the supermarket has become an event around Greater Morristown. Mega-stores now offer more than soup-to-nuts — they throw in yoga, fitness sessions and babysitting, too, amidst so many aisles that you need your GPS just to find the green beans.
Kings, on the other hand, does not enjoy the luxury of vast acreage on South Street. So it’s betting its future on the same ingredients that have been its recipe for success for four decades:
Fresh food. Friendly service. Attention to detail.
“Our starting point is the highest quality, fresh food– you can put us up against anybody. You can depend on our quality. And rivals can try to copy anything–but they can never copy our people,” Kings CEO Judith Spires said Friday, at a reception celebrating $3 million of renovations to the Morristown store.
The facelift comes as local shoppers face increasing choices for their grocery dollars.
In 2013, Grassroots Natural Market came to Morristown and ShopRite of Greater Morristown opened its vast store in Cedar Knolls. Whole Foods Market aims to open in Morristown this spring at the former A&P site on Washington Street.
With no room to expand outward, Kings instead looked inward, a reconfiguration that Spires described as nothing short of miraculous.
“We asked, ‘How can we take as much space as we can out of the back of the store?'”
The liquor department has been moved, and a “Market Square” area with fresh foods now greets customers as they enter.
“We want to make it easy to get what you want. The old supermarket way was to make you walk to the back of the store for milk,” said Spires, a Morristown resident.
Photos by Berit Ollestad. Please click icon below for captions.
Visitors seemed impressed.
“I was blown away,” said East Hanover resident Barbara Ragvid, who ducked in for some incidentals. “I used to work in Morristown, and don’t get this way very often.”
“This is the type of grocery store that Morristown deserves,” said Council President Rebecca Feldman.
Mayor Tim Dougherty praised Kings for using union labor. He added that he is a fan of the chicken pot pies at Kings, and of the attentive service.
“It really is the team. You never go unattended,” the Mayor said.
And where else can you find a counter person who will sing the National Anthem, as James Cutler (fish department) did on Friday?
‘AUTHENTIC’ NOODLES, ‘HUMANE’ BEEF
The “Newly Inspired” Kings sports some savory new offerings, including a full-service cheese table with many international brands, a “Salad Mixology Bar” and an “Authentic Noodle Bar” with special sauces, broths and fresh vegetables to customize your dish.
You can still can pop in on your lunch break to the self-serve salad bar, of course. But if you crave a little something special, attendants at the Mixology Bar are ready to provide organic pulled chicken, Enoki mushrooms, Kumamoto tomatoes, Julienned rainbow carrots and shaved fennel, among other specialties.
The full-service sushi bar prides itself on buying the freshest “Top O’ the Catch” seafood, while the meat department insists on natural, grass-fed beef, said meat Manager Patrick Lally.
His shelves include locally raised, “humanely handled” beef from River Bend Farms in Far Hills, along with “oven ready” entrees exclusive to Kings. The Parsippany-based chain encourages each of its 25 stores in the tri-state area to tailor their offerings to local tastes.
“This town is so special, and when we set out to do this remodel, we knew we had a big job in front of us. Our main objective during the remodel was to not be too disruptive to our customers. And from the feedback we’ve received, we were able to deliver. We couldn’t be happier with the outcome,” said Laura Wallace, marketing manager for Kings.
During Friday’s festivities, Spires made a point to introduce the store’s department heads; many have worked there for years and are on a first-name basis with shoppers.
Kings further stressed its community roots by making donations to the Community FoodBank of New Jersey and the Interfaith Food Pantry. Spires recognized Rosemary Gilmartin, executive director of the Interfaith Food Pantry, as a recipient of the 2014 New Jersey Heroes Award, and the local UFCW labor union gave a check to the Morristown Fire Department.
Visitors included Councilwoman Alison Deeb and her Seeing Eye dog-in-training, Tim; Jennifer Wehring of the Morristown Partnership, and Morristown First Lady Mary Dougherty.
Even though the store footprint is unchanged, Kings’ new layout may require a couple of trips to master.
“I like the over-all design of the store. To the eye it’s very appealing,” said Dr. Frank Shanley of Mendham. “It’s just going to take a little time to learn where things are.”
