BJ's Market offers smaller take on warehouse store
WARWICK — If you think BJ's Wholesale Club stores are too big, with too much stuff in them, the Massachusetts-based chain has a more diminutive offering for you, which the company promises will be more convenient: BJ's Market.
Opening Friday where the Toys 'R' Us used to be at 375 East Ave., the store has a slimmed down list of products, focusing on food. It will still sell non-food staples, such as those bales of toilet paper and other home products. It will all be in the familiar large-sized packages.
But don't look for things like flat-screen TVs, clothes and tires.
"It's like a lunchbox store," said Peter Frangie, a company vice president, explaining that it's designed as a quick stop, where parents might run in to get stuff for their kids' lunchboxes without having to walk as far.
"We are looking at it as an innovation lab," said Frangie, adding that new products will be tested there first before being rolled out to other BJ's stores. This is the first BJ's Market format opened by the chain.
The new concept wasn't designed to fit the old toy store. Instead, the store was chosen because it fits the new concept for the company, he said. "This has been a couple of years in the works, the idea of a store like this."
What's new about BJ's Market?
A typical BJ's Wholesale Club has a floor area of almost 2½ acres.
The BJ's Market is about an acre, 43,000 square feet.
By comparison, the Market Basket two miles away on Bald Hill Road is 89,000 square feet, just over 2 acres.
The store feels much cozier than a typical BJ's, with lower ceilings, smaller freezers for frozen foods and shelving that only rises two tiers off the floor, but it's still the same heavy-duty warehouse shelving, just no canyon effect.
And you can easily see the back of the store from the front of the store.
What is the bakery department like?
Pretty much the same as a full-sized BJ's store. You'll still be able to get a jumbo tray of cookies or other pastries. You'll still be able to get custom-inscribed cakes.
What about the deli?
Pretty much the same as a full-sized BJ's store. You'll still be able to take a number and get cold cuts sliced to order.
Will BJ's Market sell wine?
No. While BJ's stores in Massachusetts sell wine. it's illegal for grocery stores to sell alcohol in Rhode Island.
Do you have to be a member to shop at BJ's Market?
Yes. A membership to any BJ's store is good at all of them, including the new BJ's Market. And memberships bought at BJ's Market are good at all 200-plus stores along the Eastern Seaboard and stretching as far west as Michigan.
When does BJ's Market open?
The new store opens Friday, May 6, at 8 a.m. Its hours are 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day, except Sunday, when it closes at 8 p.m.
How do you get there?
BJ's Market is right off the Route 113 west exit from Route 95 south and Route 295 north.
How many BJ's stores are in RI?
With the opening of the BJ's Market, there are four: Warwick, Johnston, Coventry and Middletown. There are also BJ's stores minutes from the state line in Seekonk and South Attleboro, Massachusetts.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: BJ's Market offers smaller take on warehouse store
