Tops Market President John Persons said he and his team logged hundreds of miles in their quest to come up with just the right look for their latest round of store remodeling.
“I think this remodel has turned out the best,” said Persons, speaking during grand opening festivities at the Batavia Tops on West Main Street this morning. “The executive team along with some of our construction department toured the whole East Coast and looked at other stores, other ideas, and we came up with this prototype with a new comfortable feeling, and a new color décor and palette.
“Of course, we wanted to enhance the departments … making sure we had the right physical pieces, the right cases that are easy for customers to use, the right capacity for all our shelves and fresh products.”
Tops invested about $4 million to modernize the Batavia store, Persons said, and is committed to remodeling six or seven stores a year. The Le Roy Tops was remodeled last year.
“This is the third full remodel that we have done at this location,” he said. “The original location was across the street. Then we moved here and remodeled in the early 1990s, in the mid-2000s, and now this one.”
Store Manager Kris Ponzi, in her 31st year with the company, said new features include a daily fresh-cut fruit station, daily freshly prepared sushi made by an outsourced chef, new cheese shop with local and imported cheeses, expanded olive bar, wider selection of grab-and-go meals, brew market featuring local beers, and new refrigeration throughout the store.
“Everything in the store is brand new, from the flooring to the fixtures to the ceiling to the LED lighting and décor. Our shoppers will find a wide variety of items that they didn’t find before, and we’re really excited,” she added.
When asked about the recent merger with Price Chopper, she said today was all about the grand opening and that “nothing is changing in the way we operate right now.”
Photo at top: Tops Market President John Persons, Batavia Store Manager Kris Ponzi and Chief Executive Officer Frank Curci cut the ribbon this morning at the Batavia store's grand opening.
Photo at bottom: Produce Associate Tammy Bickle, Executive Jack Barrett, Assistant Manager Mike Dowd, Grocery Manager Rob Aube, District Manager Mark Dudziak, Customer Service Manager Melissa Reigle, President John Persons, Store Manager Kris Ponzi, CEO Frank Curci, Operations Manager James Stokes, Night Manager Angela Taylor and Meat Manager Tim Johnson.
Photos by Mike Pettinella.
