ShopRite Moves Into City Center

ShopRite at the City Center in White Plains will hold its grand opening on Jan. 5. The grocer promises to house an extensive variety of international, organic and gluten free products, hot prepared foods and customer friendly services.

"This is the first time we are opening a store inside of a mall," said Tom Urtz, vice president of human resources and community affairs. "It's a new venture. We're very excited by it."

Wakefern owns the City Center's Shop Rite and 29  other grocery stores, nine that are in Westchester. At the Dec. 14 White Plains Council of Neighborhood Associations meeting, store staff said they were almost done stocking the 74,000 square foot store.

ShopRite has hired about 400 employees from all types of groups in the White Plains community— like seniors and the disabled—and will continue to hire. 

"It's a win-win," said Sean Rafferty, the store manager at the meeting. "It's good for the community and it's good for us. We prefer to have people living in store community. Ultimately, it works out the best for us."

There will be no self check-out stations in the store— located on the second floor of the mall next to Nordstrom Rack, which is on the third floor of the parking garage. The store will have your standard modern grocery store sections: produce, deli, meat, bakery, seafood, frozen and floral.

Store employees also boasted an enormous, but inexpensive organic section—which was installed to reflect feedback sfrom the community.  The store will also have an impressive variety of international, kosher and gluten free foods. All specialty foods will be marked off in the aisles.

"We're taking this store to another level as far as hot meals go," said Rafferty.

ShopRite at the City Center will have an extensive menu of prepared hot foods, as well as a soup and sushi station; Asian kitchen; working grill for hot dogs, hamburgers and steaks; pre-made and made to order sandwichs. An area that seats 50 to 75 people will allow shoppers to enjoy their prepared meal, while watching the store's flat screen televisions.

In addition to the store's pharmacy, ShopRite will have a dietician on staff to help shoppers create healthy diets with the groceries they purchase. The dietician will also be doing outreach work with local organizations and teach people to eat healthy while staying on budget.

If you don't feel like trekking out to the City Center for groceries you can order them online, or call in your order to the store and have it delivered to your home. You can also shop in the store, and have someone deliver your groceries later.

"We'll deliver it the way what you want," said Rafferty.

Store officials said their aisles are widened so carts can easily navigate through the story and down the hallways to reach street level from the mall.  There will also be six motorized carts for those who need help getting around the store. Employees will also hold your groceries while you pull your car up to the third level garage—that lead's to the store's main entrance—or help you walk groceries to your car. Shoppers will have to pay for parking, but will be reimburse $.75 per hour.

"I was not looking forward to going to a store that was in a mall, where I would pay for parking, but with all the services they have and the availability of foods—their organic foods particularly—I'm looking forward to a different kind of shopping experience in downtown White Plains," said Joan Traber, a Fisher Hill neighborhood resident. "I will give it a try."

ShopRite staff will be stationed in the parking lot to corral shopping carts, which have devices that prevent the cart from moving once it leaves the parking lot.

"I think it's excellent," said Tony Spinelli, of the Battle Hill neighborhood, of the new store. "I'm still concerned about shopping carts, because even though has those special wheel locks—I see Target shopping carts every where else in the city."

The store will also feature a large bottle recycling area, and place to dump plastic bags to be recycled. The store will also practice composting and has made energy efficient additions—like replacing light fixtures, adding vents and fans, as well as installed a low impact heating and cooling system.

The store is reaching out to local organizations, like Ecumenical Food Pantry at Grace Church, to see whom they can donate left over food to. Urtz said he was committed to maintaining a high level of customer and community service beyond their first few months of opening.

Editor's Note: The grand opening of the store held on Jan. 5.  The original version of the story said the store would open on Jan. 5, with the grand opening on Jan. 9. The date was changed post-publication.