Choice Market opened its largest location, a 5,000-square-foot spot in the Golden Triangle, last month. (Photos courtesy of Choice Market)
Choice Market’s new store in Golden Triangle just got a little sweeter.
Nearly two years after BusinessDen first reported on it, the local convenience store chain has opened its fourth location on the ground floor of the Parq on Speer apartment building at 909 Bannock St.
The 5,000-square-foot space, which opened Feb. 26, also features the fourth location of High Point Creamery, an ice cream shop that already operates in RiNo, Berkeley and Hilltop.
“There are around 3,000 units either built or planned in the three-to-four-block radius, and it’s one of the highest-density residential neighborhoods in Denver,” said Choice Market CEO Mike Fogarty. “But it lacks a lot of amenities and services. So, between that, Denver Health and the hospital caddy-corner from us, I’m guessing this will be a very successful store.”
The new location’s automated, “frictionless technology” is expected to be fully operational by mid-April.
Choice Market’s newest and largest store sells groceries, local craft beer, hot and cold grab-and-go meals, snacks, cold-pressed juices, soups, breakfast burritos and more from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., with plans to eventually operate 24/7. It also has a full coffee bar operating in the morning.
The company, which bills itself as combining “the product selection of a natural market and fast-casual restaurant with the transaction times and footprint of a traditional convenience store,” already operates downtown at 1770 N. Broadway, in Lincoln Park at 1015 Osage St., and at 2200 E. Colfax Ave. in City Park. That last location is the company’s only one with gas pumps.
Fogarty said the company has its eyes set on Boulder and Arvada for new locations.
Choice’s Golden Triangle store is its first to feature “frictionless technology,” where customers can download an app, enter their payment information and scan a Choice Market app to enter the store, shop, and then just walk out when they’re done.
Hundreds of ceiling cameras and shelf sensors determine what customers have selected to buy, and minutes later, an e-receipt appears on their phone. The technology won’t be available until mid-April, Fogarty said.
“We’ve been developing this technology long before COVID, but it just so happened to coincide with a global pandemic, in which folks are more conscious than ever when it comes to shopping,” Fogarty said. “It’s not why we developed this, but it was the right time and right place. This technology aligns with our goals to make good food accessible and convenient, and you really can’t get much more convenient than this.”
“And more than just the customer experience, we receive data analytics on how long customers stay in there, what shelves are doing better than others, and more that can improve our overall product selection and pricing,” he added.
Customers can also check out as normal with a cashier or use the app to order items ahead of time or for delivery.
Fogarty opened Choice Market’s new store without fanfare as a way to test out some kinks in the new technology, he said. He plans to host an official grand opening for the new shop in two weeks.
“This is a pilot,” Fogarty said. “If all goes well, we’ll retrofit all of the stores with the same platform and technology.”
High Point Creamery’s scoop shop is open for business in Choice Market’s new Golden Triangle location. (Courtesy of High Point Creamery)
High Point Creamery, which has around 400 square feet in the store, is serving its inventive rotating ice cream flavors, such as violet and lime and chamomile with blueberry swirl, daily from noon to 8 p.m.
Choice Market has always sold pints of the parlor’s products in each of its stores, and Fogarty reached out to co-owner Erika Thomas about joining the new location last year.
Choice Market opened its largest location, a 5,000-square-foot spot in the Golden Triangle, last month. (Photos courtesy of Choice Market)
Choice Market’s new store in Golden Triangle just got a little sweeter.
Nearly two years after BusinessDen first reported on it, the local convenience store chain has opened its fourth location on the ground floor of the Parq on Speer apartment building at 909 Bannock St.
The 5,000-square-foot space, which opened Feb. 26, also features the fourth location of High Point Creamery, an ice cream shop that already operates in RiNo, Berkeley and Hilltop.
“There are around 3,000 units either built or planned in the three-to-four-block radius, and it’s one of the highest-density residential neighborhoods in Denver,” said Choice Market CEO Mike Fogarty. “But it lacks a lot of amenities and services. So, between that, Denver Health and the hospital caddy-corner from us, I’m guessing this will be a very successful store.”
The new location’s automated, “frictionless technology” is expected to be fully operational by mid-April.
Choice Market’s newest and largest store sells groceries, local craft beer, hot and cold grab-and-go meals, snacks, cold-pressed juices, soups, breakfast burritos and more from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., with plans to eventually operate 24/7. It also has a full coffee bar operating in the morning.
The company, which bills itself as combining “the product selection of a natural market and fast-casual restaurant with the transaction times and footprint of a traditional convenience store,” already operates downtown at 1770 N. Broadway, in Lincoln Park at 1015 Osage St., and at 2200 E. Colfax Ave. in City Park. That last location is the company’s only one with gas pumps.
Fogarty said the company has its eyes set on Boulder and Arvada for new locations.
Choice’s Golden Triangle store is its first to feature “frictionless technology,” where customers can download an app, enter their payment information and scan a Choice Market app to enter the store, shop, and then just walk out when they’re done.
Hundreds of ceiling cameras and shelf sensors determine what customers have selected to buy, and minutes later, an e-receipt appears on their phone. The technology won’t be available until mid-April, Fogarty said.
“We’ve been developing this technology long before COVID, but it just so happened to coincide with a global pandemic, in which folks are more conscious than ever when it comes to shopping,” Fogarty said. “It’s not why we developed this, but it was the right time and right place. This technology aligns with our goals to make good food accessible and convenient, and you really can’t get much more convenient than this.”
“And more than just the customer experience, we receive data analytics on how long customers stay in there, what shelves are doing better than others, and more that can improve our overall product selection and pricing,” he added.
Customers can also check out as normal with a cashier or use the app to order items ahead of time or for delivery.
Fogarty opened Choice Market’s new store without fanfare as a way to test out some kinks in the new technology, he said. He plans to host an official grand opening for the new shop in two weeks.
“This is a pilot,” Fogarty said. “If all goes well, we’ll retrofit all of the stores with the same platform and technology.”
High Point Creamery’s scoop shop is open for business in Choice Market’s new Golden Triangle location. (Courtesy of High Point Creamery)
High Point Creamery, which has around 400 square feet in the store, is serving its inventive rotating ice cream flavors, such as violet and lime and chamomile with blueberry swirl, daily from noon to 8 p.m.
Choice Market has always sold pints of the parlor’s products in each of its stores, and Fogarty reached out to co-owner Erika Thomas about joining the new location last year.
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