Bishop Gets Extra!
Expanded grocery store is all the rage
Shoppers in Bishop are flocking to the newly renovated and greatly expanded Smart & Final Store in Bishop. All around town people are enthusiastically asking friends if they “have been to the new Smart & Final,” and going on about how great it is.
Local competitors are waiting to see what impact the bigger store will have on business, says Manor Market owner Kyle Oney.
The Bishop store, now dubed a “Smart & Final Extra!” has more options than ever. There is a large dairy and fresh meat section, a greatly expanded liquor section, and most striking is the large produce section and an extensive bulk foods department in which nuts and other dry goods are sold from self-service bins.
The new store’s manager said that it will employ approximately 40 employees and are still accepting job applications.
Smart & Final’s appeal has always been its low prices on selected items—it has long been the store of choice for operators of small restaurants, catering companies, businesses, clubs and civic organizations looking to buy food products in bulk. It also offers low prices on household goods such as cleaning products. Smart & Final are seen as the preferred location for stocking kitchens and preparing for holidays, parties and events.
The limited selection available at the small store in Bishop also limited the number of shoppers. Local shoppers often prefer neighboring Vons out of convenience for its much larger selection of brand-name foods, even if prices were higher.
Parking at Vons is also much more covenient.
