Weis joins crowded supermarket space in Warminster area. How grocers survive with so many options

The new Weis supermarket in Warminster filled with shoppers Thursday, including many navigating the new store for the first time while they stocked up on milk, bread and other staples in preparation for a big weekend storm.

Beer, wine, prepared casseroles and even bright flower bouquets were also hot ticket items for those anticipating they’d need ready cures for cabin fever.

Weis' nearby gas station was busy as well with customers filling their tanks.

The spacious, 46,000-square foot store in the former K-Mart at 1133 York Road opened earlier this month and employs 130 full- and part-time workers. Weis celebrated the event as supermarket chains have been hit hard by the pandemic.

Like other retailers, supermarket companies have faced shortages of both workers and supplies, and they readily admit it's been hard to keep shelves stocked over the past 22 months.

The National Grocers Association states there are more than 21,000 privately held or family-owned grocery stores in the United States, generating more than $250 billion in sales and providing more than a million jobs. But since the pandemic hit, the national labor shortage "continues to strain critical industries, including grocery and the food industry at large, said NGA spokesman Jim Dudlicke in an email.

"As we’ve seen across the economy, product availability and price inflation are being driven by a perfect storm of factors including an ongoing shortage of labor across the entire supply chain, an acute shortage of truck drivers, increased ingredient inputs and occasional disruptions in product packaging production," he said. "Weather emergencies also have been a factor in some parts of the country. While there is plenty of food in the supply chain, we anticipate consumers will continue to experience sporadic disruptions in certain product categories as we have seen over the past two years due to the ongoing supply and labor challenges."

Harry Nelson, manager of the Warminster Weis Market, said it took Weis some extra effort to pull off the grand opening of the well-stocked and serviced store.

“We’re pretty much fully staffed,” he said, noting that offering $500 sign-on bonuses helped attract some potential employees. He said the location is ideal, close to the center of town's many shopping centers, but also on York Road heading north toward Warwick and Doylestown.

“Our development team identified an opportunity to offer shoppers in Warminster a strong combination of convenience and value in a section (of the township) that’s underserved by existing grocery store options,” he said.

But, shoppers in this part of Bucks have a multitude of other grocery stores nearby.

With many new housing developments in the Warminster-Warrington-Warwick area along York and Easton Roads, commercial development of retail space, including supermarkets, has boomed in recent years in this area.

Weis is the latest supermarket to open along the Warminster-Warrington border, where Giant, ShopRite, Wegmans, Aldi and the new Amazon Fresh store already are in business, along with big box stores Costco, Target and Walmart.

"Many factors are considered when placing a grocery store – population, household income, existing grocery stores in the area and their proximity, other businesses and services in the area, potential for growth in a given area," Dudlicke said.

The new Weis store in the Hartville area of the township can also readily serve customers in Warwick. Giant previously had a store there but closed it in 2019 when it opened a new, 56,000-square foot store with pharmacy on Easton Road in Warrington. . There are 18 supermarkets and big box retailers selling food in Bucks and Eastern Montgomery County within approximately 5 miles of Warminster.

“If you shop the sales, having different stores is helpful…Especially with inflation, it’s nice to have the opportunity to go to different stores,” said one older shopper who enjoys the convenience of having so many supermarkets nearby. She checks out the weekly circulars to see what each store is offering as “loss leaders,” discounted specials to bring in customers.

Linda Shannon of Warminster said it was her second time visiting the Weis store. “I generally shop Giant or Wegmans,” she said. “So far, I like what I see —- the size of the aisles. It’s very well stocked.”

Other shoppers pointed out how clean the new store looked.

“This is most convenient to my house. I like that there’s gas and beer and wine so I don’t have to make multiple stops,” said Jordan Hahn of Warwick, a mother of two young children, as she purchased lunchmeat at the deli which also offers fresh-made pizza and deli sandwiches.

Another woman at the deli counter liked how big and convenient the store was but still liked Giant’s homemade chicken salad.

As she left the store, Judy Perlman of Warminster said she liked that the store had a lot of items she uses as well as her husband's favorite yogurt — vanilla with M&Ms, "which is hard to find ...The flower department is gorgeous," she noted.

Specialty items are not new to many supermarkets now. Wegmans is known for its prepared foods and gourmet selection of unusual items. Last week, Wegman's advertised maitake mushrooms, organic sprouted grain bread and kombucha.

ShopRite has its niche as a “low-price leader in the market,” said Karen O’Shea, spokesperson for Wakefern Food Corp., the company that provides products to the often family owned ShopRite stores. “Our weekly sales and promotions throughout the store are designed to help customers save.”

She said the store’s circular, club loyalty card, app, digital coupons, store brands and a new program to lock-in savings all are geared to this effort.

More: PA's first Amazon Fresh opens Thursday in Bucks. Here's what to expect

O’Shea and Ashley Flower, spokeswoman for Giant Markets, both admitted that this has been a trying year for supermarkets.

Flower said the markets recognized that customers have many choices. "The grocery industry is intensely competitive, and our customers' needs are constantly evoloving, so we must continue to innovate and differentiate ourselves.

“Our supplier and manufacturing partners have advised us of supply, production, and or sourcing challenges they are facing, which impacts what is available in our stores (and others) for purchase," Flower said. "Historic demand and a stretched supply chain have contributed to limited product availability in certain cases. Many other factors like ongoing labor shortages, limited availability of raw ingredients, freight and packaging constraints, and unpredictable weather events are beyond our control. We continue to remain in close contact with our suppliers and are working to bring in alternate products, but it is possible customers may find a particular brand or variety is unavailable due to the these challenges."

The family-owned Weis Markets offers organic produce, a full-service seafood department, custom-cut Certified Angus Beef, sushi prepared in-store daily, a full-service floral department, 17 checkout lanes, the fuel center and Weis 2 Go Online ordering with curbside pick-up or home delivery.

The Warminster store is part of Weis' expansion in the Philadelphia area. “It’s a competitive area but we’re focused on doing our best to serve our customers,” Nelson said. "It's a growing company and wants to be more involved in this area.

“We believe in giving back to the community,” he added.

To mark the grand opening of the Warminster store, it donated $50,000 to Philabundance and $2,500 to the Warminster Food Bank as well as $2,500 to the Centennial Little League and $2,500 to the Hartsville Fire Co.

The Warminster store is open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday.

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More: Grocery shopping on a budget? Giant markets have an app to help

To contact Peg Quann, email mquann@couriertimes.com.

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Weis store joins variety of supermarkets vying for Warminster shoppers