West Sacramento-based grocery store chain Raley's announced this week it's expanding delivery service to much of the region. The grocer is partnering with Sacramento delivery service FoodJets. Customers can work with a personal shopper to find the items they want. The Sacramento Business Journal's Digital Editor Sonya Sorich says Raley's isn't the first grocer to experiment with delivery.
"Amazon is the obvious competitor, but we've seen other grocery chains try delivery as well," says Sorich. "Then of course there are those services like Blue Apron that deliver ingredients to make specific meals. Millennials are a big driver of this focus on delivery. We keep hearing about the focus on speed and convenience."
There's no delivery charge for the first three Raley's orders. After that, it's $5.95 for orders under $100 and any order over $100 has no delivery charge.
Sacramento craft brewer Device Brewing Company has announced plans to open a taproom in the Ice Blocks development at 16th and R in midtown. Sorich says it's part of a wave of recent growth in the local beer industry.
"We have seen many of these existing breweries expand with new taprooms in recent months," says Sorich. "Bike Dog Brewing opened that new taproom on Broadway and we know other breweries such as Track 7 and Out of Bounds have new locations in the works as well."
The Device taproom in the Ice Blocks is expected to open in the spring. It will be joining other food and drink businesses at the site, including Philz Coffee and Beast and Bounty restaurant. Device has operated its current Sacramento brewery and taproom, on 14th Avenue off of Power Inn Road, since 2013.
Meanwhile, the Sacramento region's competitive beer scene lost another taproom this month. Final Gravity has closed its Auburn site after opening there two-years ago. Sorich says there aren't many details yet about why Final Gravity closed in Auburn.
"But we do know that since that location opened, Auburn's beer scene has gotten a lot more competitive," says Sorich. "We've seen the relatively recent arrival of breweries such as Crooked Lane and Moonraker in Auburn as well."
Final Gravity still has a site in Roseville.
Business is looking up for a Sacramento area restaurant that serves gourmet waffles infused with herbs or spices...and toppings like free-range chicken, blue cheese and basil aioli. Sorich says Waffle Experience has found a franchisee for an upcoming site in Elk Grove.
"The founders of the business actually have big expansion plans," says Sorich. "Locally we could see locations in Roseville and maybe midtown Sacramento. But there's also apparently interest in opening Waffle Experiences in places such as Seattle and Dallas."
The Waffle Experience currently has locations in Natomas and Folsom.
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