You never know which retail food concepts that have been successful in other nations are going to find a foothold in the United Sates.
British supermarket giant Tesco's attempts to establish a mid-size, discount grocery store -- Fresh & Easy -- in California have failed to produce results the past two years, losing $206 million in the past year alone. Contrast Tesco with Canadian import Tim Horton's, which, following a merger with Wendy's in 1995, has embarked on an ambitious expansion plan in the United States, where it now has more than 500 stores, including its newest at Fort Knox.
I'm curious whether British chef Jamie Oliver's Recipease could succeed in the U.S. The new London store sells food and kitchen items, the idea being that you can come in and buy everything you need for a meal. You can also take classes on how to prepare a dinner and leave with the finished results.
Recipease is like a sample day at Sam's Club dropped into the middle of a Williams-Sonoma. The mood seems right for a cooking/kitchen utensil hybrid store.
Whole Foods has a version of the idea with its Whole Foods Culinary Centers, currently at more than 30 locations cross the country including the store on Metcalf in Overland Park. A regular calendar of cooking classes in the kitchen spaces involves wines and seasonal items, all of which are conveniently sold next door at the attached Whole Foods.
In a culture that's interested in chefs and focused on the demonstration element of cooking, a permanent show in the center of a store would seem to be the retail equivalent of a restaurant's open kitchen.
[Image via Flickr: rex libris]
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Not wine, just the aforementioned seasonal items. For wine, you'd have to go the nearby Metcalf Discount Liquor.
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