Come April 2017, Acme may replace Fresh Grocer at 40th and Walnut. Fresh Grocer, which is affiliated with ShopRite, “did not renew their lease in a timely fashion,” according to a statement released on Monday by the University of Pennsylvania. The statement also said that Penn identified a new operator for this location, which is reportedly Acme.
Fresh Grocer employees and customers have been distributing flyers asking passersby to support Fresh Grocer.
Employees of ShopRite’s Fresh Grocer at 40th & Walnut Streets are petitioning customers to lobby Penn to not change the store’s ownership: pic.twitter.com/XS1R7CTjFl
— Jonathan Tannenwald (@jtannenwald) December 24, 2016
Signed by The Burns Family (Patrick J. Burns is Fresh Grocer’s president and CEO), the flyer urges customers to contact Penn’s executive vice president Craig Carnaroli by phone and email, join the movement to save the store on Facebook, and use a #SavePennFroGro hashtag on social media.
The Philadelphia Inquirer‘s staff writer Jason Nark spoke to Fresh Grocer customers and asked their opinion about the store’s possible closing. Read his report here.
December 27th, 2016 at 4:29 pm
OMG, FroGro has been a big part of my life since I moved to West Philly in 2001. They carry organic products and sometime I love to pig out on the salad bar. There really isn’t much that compares in West Philly either.
December 27th, 2016 at 4:34 pm
Fresh Grocer has poor customer service, very random pricing, consistently has the same items out of stock week after week, and often rips off their customers by having sale tags on items but actually charging full price. So not sure why anyone would be particularly saddened by this. Hopefully ACME would be better.
December 27th, 2016 at 5:56 pm
The layout of the store makes me feel nauseous. I welcome an alternative
December 27th, 2016 at 7:15 pm
That store is so Unorganized, cramped, Customer Service is poor and needs to be replaces. Acme also has Organic sections and better deals. Please Change it.
December 27th, 2016 at 8:22 pm
I might be sorry for the people who lose their jobs, but this store never struck me as anything to get excited about: crazy floor plan, random pricing, and employees that never smiled. Being better won’t be a very high standard to meet for who ever comes next.
December 27th, 2016 at 11:38 pm
Acme???!!! WTF???
December 28th, 2016 at 1:02 am
So is Acme supposed to be better or worse? Fresh Grocer is pretty good as far as urban supermarkes go, gotta wonder why they didn’t renew their lease..
December 28th, 2016 at 10:14 am
How will ACME be an improvement? Anybody?
December 28th, 2016 at 10:45 am
How would Acme be worse?
December 28th, 2016 at 1:28 pm
If this ACME is similar to others in the city or suburbs, it will be worse in overall value and selection. Arguendo, if the ACME replacing FroGro is designed in a similar style to the 40th Street location, in comparison the the one, say, at 54th Street with a much more limited selection and no hot or prepared food sectionat all, why, to answer your question would this even be up for debate. I am sure ‘goldenonkey’s question was simply devil’s advocate material
January 1st, 2017 at 9:39 am
I’m not playing devil’s advocate here.
You may not have been here when here when University City was a grocery desert. Fresh Grocer’s opening was a pretty big deal for a lot of people, but unfortunately, it never lived up to the hopes of many. Personally, I think the place is terrible. The layout is horrendous, many items are drastically over-priced, selection is poor, and customer service is non-existent at times. All of this is even more mind-boggling when compared to their new Grey’s Ferry location, which is a welcome addition to the area.
Frankly, it’s time to allow someone else to have a go. They’ve turned a prime opportunity into a debacle.
January 3rd, 2017 at 9:18 am
And a happy new year to you, grocery grinch.
January 4th, 2017 at 9:37 am
The Crab cakes are only ‘partially cooked’. I was looking at the guy like, huh, are you really that lazy that you only ‘partially cook’ the crab cakes so now I have to cook them at home. This is supposed to be a prepared foods section. The salad bar has 8 different types of proteins and two types of lettuce? Umm, not pleased.
January 11th, 2017 at 3:16 pm
I’m glad to see the Fresh Grocer go. I avoid this place at all cost. Sometimes I’ll drive out to the suburbs just to avoid it. The layout makes no sense, getting items at the deli counter takes 20 minutes, the produce is horrible quality, and the customer service needs help. I’d love a Trader Joe’s!! Also, there is no reason for the two level cafe. That space could be utilized in so many better ways! I welcome the change.
January 17th, 2017 at 12:46 am
It is long overdue. Employees are not friendly, found expired products, several vagrants hanging out on the second floor. Bathroom is terrible, it is a mess in there. Thank you for finally letting them go!
January 17th, 2017 at 4:51 pm
Agree with MN. I only usually frequent FroGro to buy groceries/crab legs but on Saturdays I co-host community empowerment discussions in UC so I stop in for lunch. I don’t really appreciate eating a Nigiri roll and Seaweed salad with some bundled up vagrants just moping around or eating cheese sandwiches with an entire loaf of bread or just eating ham from the deli. I get that it’s cold but it is winter after all…It’s not a place that wants to serve it’s real customers. Umm, huh?