Grocery store chain gets new name, stores to follow
July 25, 2008 - 01:14 PM
by Ralph Schwartz
by Ralph Schwartz
The Anacortes Food Pavilion will get a remodel and a new name by September, according to officials from the Bellingham-based company that owns the store. The company, formerly known as Brown and Cole, changed its name to The Markets after emerging from bankruptcy.
The Food Pavilion at 1519 Commercial Ave. will get a name change of its own, although officials at Brown and Cole — now called The Markets — haven’t settled on what the store’s new name will be. The store will get a new look inside and will begin offering new services by September, company Public Affairs Director Sue Cole said.
Cole declined to elaborate on what those “new services” will be, revealing only that the store will offer customers “things they haven’t seen in stores in this area before.”
“We’re very focused on fresh food — food as fun, food as something that doesn’t have to be a chore. I think the things that we will be offering in our stores will accentuate that,” Cole said.
Since emerging from bankruptcy at the beginning of the year, the grocery chain already has made some changes, cleaning up its stores and bringing in new products in response to customer requests, Cole said.
“There’s a lot of momentum going on here right now. There’s a real positive spirit after a few rough years,” Cole said.
There’s also a change at the top of the company. Kevin Weatherill, previously the supermarket chain’s chief operating officer, was named president and chief executive officer. Weatherill replaces Craig Cole, who led Brown and Cole since 1986 and will remain on the company’s board of directors.
The Markets also will open a new store in Birch Bay in the next six months or so — the company’s first new store in five years.
The Markets currently has 20 stores in Washington, including Cost Cutter in Burlington, and Food Pavilions in Anacortes, Mount Vernon and Sedro-Woolley. It’s likely that all stores will get new names, Sue Cole said.
