New pick-up only grocery store Addie's opens in Norwood
NORWOOD - We may be looking at the future of grocery shopping. It's the brainchild of a former aerospace engineer. It's called Addie's, and it just opened in Norwood. It is a pick-up only grocery store.
"People want the convenience of ordering online, and we see that in so many other areas," said Addie's founder Jim McQuaid. "It's just tough to solve online for groceries."
McQuaid says the pandemic expedited his idea. As more stores turned to pick-up only due to COVID, consumers became used to the service.
Customers can build their order online with Addie's, and then his teams go to work putting it all together. Each item is placed is coded aisles. An algorithm in their system tells the stock person the fastest route to get all of the items.
"This operation is one that we can replicate in busy towns across the country," added McQuaid.
He says all too often online grocery delivery services charge higher prices than what you find in store. They also can have delivery charges. The lack of delivery allows Addie's to cut costs for the customer. Any items that do not meet Addie's standards will either be donated to local food banks, if they are still edible, or composted.
"Their environmental impact to me is important," said Sarah Robinson, one of Addie's first customers. "We have done some deliveries, some pick-ups, especially started during the pandemic when didn't want to go to grocery stores. As soon as we felt more comfortable going into grocery stores, I was like, 'I don't feel like I want to go back to that.' I'm looking for any time in our busy week we can cut some time here and there."