Rather than a store post today, let's take a look at one of the few food partnerships Albertsons did before the ubiquitous Starbucks. This article from Supermarket News, titled "Albertson's unit opens its doors to in-store Cinnabon" appeared in the August 26, 1996 issue.
The article doesn't say which store it was, and since Albertsons pulled out of Austin a decade ago, this store has definitely closed. Still, it does look at one of the ways Albertsons was doing in the 1990s. I presume the Cinnabon rolls were the same as ones offered at many (all?) Schlotzsky's shops these days, shipped in frozen. I know Albertsons had a Krispy Kreme program as well in the early 2000s but it wasn't done in-house, they were simply sold from nearby Krispy Kreme restaurants, which sounds like cheating at best.
AUSTIN, Texas - The first Albertson's to house Cinnabon retail outlet coincided with the opening of a 65,000-square-foot food and drug store here at the end of last month.
Dubbed "The Village Market," the new Albertson's is the first chain unit to lease space within the store to other businesses, according to a statement.
Located in the front of the store near the entrance, according to Cinnabon spokeswoman Sharon Roberts, the facility offers its trademark cinnamon rolls, as well as coffee, orange juice, lemonade and an iced chocolate mocha drink called Mochalatta Chill.
Only time will tell how Cinnabon's arrival will affect Albertson's in-store bakery, said a spokeswoman at the store's Boise, Idaho, headquarters.
"It's a very good question, and right now Albertson's is searching for answers since it's a new experiment, and it's only been a few weeks in operation," she said. "We are looking at this closely."
A Cinnabon development executive said it is currently looking at several other Albertson's sites.
"We're definitely nurturing the relationship with Albertson's, but nothing has been confirmed yet," the executive said. "It could be that we'll be in more Albertson's stores in Texas or in other places. We just wanted to open [the Austin store] and see how it goes, and so far it's just been terrific."
The article doesn't say which store it was, and since Albertsons pulled out of Austin a decade ago, this store has definitely closed. Still, it does look at one of the ways Albertsons was doing in the 1990s. I presume the Cinnabon rolls were the same as ones offered at many (all?) Schlotzsky's shops these days, shipped in frozen. I know Albertsons had a Krispy Kreme program as well in the early 2000s but it wasn't done in-house, they were simply sold from nearby Krispy Kreme restaurants, which sounds like cheating at best.
This was the store at Bee Cave Road and Loop 360 in the Westlake area. A very wealthy part of town and one of the last Albertsons stores to close in the Austin area. Cinnabon didn't last long. H-E-B ended up buying this store and reopening it after an extensive remodel.
ReplyDelete