Thriftway store will become a ShopRite

Students with complaints about the variety and quality of the food at Brown's Thriftway Supermarket -- currently the only grocery store in the area -- have a reason to celebrate. Located at 43rd and Walnut streets, the grocery store will convert to a ShopRite Supermarket over the next few months, according to a Thriftway management official. The completion date has not yet been determined, since everything is still in the planning stages right now. However, ShopRite should be open for business "in the next quarter of this year," according to the official, who wished to remain annonymous. "The area is changing and we had to make a decision about which direction to go," the official said. "Thriftway is fine for the area, but I think ShopRite could add a little more value. Sometimes it's time for a change." Thriftway will soon face a competitor located closer to Penn's campus, as finishing touches are put on The Freshgrocer, a supermarket that is scheduled to open on February 23 at the corner of 40th and Walnut streets. The changes at Thriftway, the official said, will include "more variety and deep discount pricing. The store will look different, be laid out differently." He denied that the planned changes are in response to the arrival of Freshgrocer. "Freshgrocer is an upscale, pricey supermarket," he said. "That is not the clientele I am trying to attract." Freshgrocer owner Pat Burns said he is not concerned with any threat that ShopRite may pose. "That's great," he said upon hearing the news of Thriftway's switch. "Good for them. I'm not worried about their business, I'm worried about doing the best I can for my store." While the Thriftway management official said he believes about 15 to 20 percent of his customers are University students, he is confident that all his shoppers will find the changes an improvement. In the past, Thriftway has gained a reputation with Penn students as dirty, unsafe and too far away from campus. While the location cannot be changed, the management official said he is determined to make shopping more pleasurable. "I know [Penn students] will shop there," he said. "Someone who doesn't want to shop at a gourmet place and who just wants regular mainline food will shop there." The management official hopes that the new ShopRite will lure more customers into the store. "We're looking at significant increases [in shoppers], probably close to double," he said. Overall, students said they were pleased with the news of Thriftway's transformation. "Thriftway was way too dirty and the food in general was poor quality," Engineering junior Jai Gupta said. "We used to have a ShopRite where I lived and I thought it was much better." "A lot of Penn students don't like to shop at Thriftway because they're worried about it being dirty," College sophomore Laura Mitterman said. "I think that the ShopRite will probably be more popular." The supermarket will continue to operate over the next few months, but workers may "close off parts of the store" as changes are made, according to the management official.

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