THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, June 26, 1996 TAG: 9606250037
SECTION: FLAVOR PAGE: F1 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Morsels
SOURCE: RUTH FANTASIA
LENGTH: 72 lines
HARRIS TEETER isn't a grocery store. It's more like a dozen little specialty shops clumped under one roof.
There's a coffee shop, a natural-foods store, a kosher deli, a juice bar, a fruit stand, a butcher shop, a florist, a fish market, a dry cleaner, a bank, a wine and beer store and a bakery complete with a German pastry chef.
This new 67,000-square-foot supermarket on Virginia Beach Boulevard at Plaza Trail (the old Princess Anne Plaza), is created for customers who want specialty-shop service and convenience.
For instance, there's a salad bar, but shoppers can only approach it from one side. On the other side there's an attendant who keeps the area sparkling clean and ensures fingers don't go walking through the food.
``The attendant is something customers told us they wanted,'' says Susan Mayo, Harris Teeter's manager of customer development.
Customers also asked for, and got, a kosher selection including Hebrew National meats, gefilte fish, frozen pizzas, ground beef and rib steaks.
If you're not in the mood to cook, you can pick up prepared foods from the ``fast and fresh'' case or have the clerks serve up sesame noodles, stuffed grape leaves, coconut chicken or currant salad from behind the counter.
Grab dessert from the European-style bakery, and say ``hi'' to Guenther Trzenski while you're there. Trzenski, a pastry chef with 28 years of experience, developed Harris Teeter's recipe for napoleons, and in Virginia Beach the classic French pastries have caught on faster than amphitheater tickets. At 1 p.m. Sunday, customers were standing around talking about the treats as the last one was sold.
The natural-foods center fills two aisles and contains 300 to 400 items including bulk spices, natural dairy foods and cosmetics.
The grocery shelves are filled with all the usual products, but there seems to be a wider-than-normal range in quality and price. You can buy gourmet pasta or Mueller's, Ghiradelli chocolate or Nestle, White House cider vinegar or an 8-year-old bottle of balsamic vinegar.
A couple of generic labels offer price breaks. Harris Teeter's President's Choice line is touted to be as good as or better than national brands at a lower cost. There's also a Harris Teeter label and a Hunter Farms dairy label. Incidentally, the chain owns Hunter Farms.
The meat counter offers upscale cuts, such as Frenched rack of lamb ($11.99 per pound), as well as the more common turkey, beef, pork and chicken cuts.
The seafood department, though not large, includes an impressive staff of experts. Andy Dail, who previously worked for Harris Teeter, left his family's long-established market, Dail's Seafood in Norfolk, to return to the chain.
``There's only one thing I'd rather do than work for myself, and that's work for Harris Teeter,'' Dail says.
That attitude is probably the most stunning aspect of the store. The employees - from the woman stocking the dairy goods to the bag boy rejoicing in his first job - appear happy and eager to serve.
The feeling is so infectious I didn't want to escape, even on a crowded afternoon. Until the customers get a feel for the store's floor plan and best bargains, it's going to take a savvy shopper to spend only a little time and money at Harris Teeter.
Fortunately for Chesapeake residents like me, the Harris Teeter on Greenbrier Parkway won't open until fall. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
DAVID HOLLINGSWORTH/The Virginian-Pilot
Harris Teeter has chefs on hand to prepare meals for customers who
aren't in the mood to cook.
Photo
DAVID B. HOLLINGSWORTH/The Virginian-Pilot
The new Harris Teeter is on Virginia Beach Boulevard at Plaza Trail.
A Chesapeake store is scheduled to open this fall. by CNB