Wegmans anchors "service center" in Glen Mills, PA

Wegmans' 88th store opened a couple weeks ago in Glen Mills, PA, in a center focusing on service, according to Peter Miller of Carlino Commercial Development.

"There is a lot of food, medical, grocery, restaurant, and some service with banking and an AT&T, and fewer soft goods retailers," said Miller. "This is what this center is about, not fashion."

The 111,000 square foot store has a full-service restaurant and bar, and a marketplace offering natural and organic foods.

Tenants planned for the center, known as Brandywine Mills, include MOD Pizza, Heartland Dental, Sally Beauty, Zoe's Kitchen, Starbucks, Hair Cuttery, Vitamin Shoppe, a Sleep Number Bed Store, Petco, a credit union and a children's hospital satellite location. 

The Fresh Market posts sales, profit gains in Q1

The Fresh Market announced last week that it rebounded from a disappointing fourth quarter by posting strong sales, comps and profits in the company's first quarter, which ended April 28.

Sales for the quarter were $366.6 million, a 12.9% increase as compared to the same quarter one year ago. Comparable-store sales improved by 3%, and net income for the quarter improved 14.8% to $22.1 million.

Fresh Market CEO Craig Carlock said the company is learning from a business intelligence platform launched a year ago that helps them craft promotions based on an analysis of basket contents. It has provided Fresh Market with "a level of sophistication and timeliness that we previously lacked," according to Carlock.

The Fresh Market operates 131 stores in 25 states. Philadelphia area stores are located in Center Valley, Glen Mills and Horsham.

Whole Foods to open tomorrow in Glen Mills

The eagerly awaited Whole Foods Market is set to open tomorrow in Glen Eagle Square Shopping Center on Westchester Pike in Glen Mills, about a mile down the road from where a Wegmans is scheduled to be built.

The Whole Foods Market will be approximately 38,000 square feet and will feature the Brew & Brau Coffee Bar and Pub.