Roche Bros. is coming to Waltham, and for some residents that means grocery shopping will be just a short walk downstairs from their kitchen.
The Wellesley-based supermarket chain will open one of its smaller-format Brothers Market stores next spring in The Merc at Moody and Main apartment building in downtown Waltham. It’s the latest foray by Roche Bros. into more dense and urban markets in Greater Boston, and one of a growing number of grocery stores slated for the ground floors of housing developments.
The store is Roche Bros.’ third “Brothers Market” — they’re already open in Weston and Medfield — and at 8,500 square feet will be less than one-third the size of the company’s typical supermarkets. The Waltham store will be full-service, said Paul McGillivray, vice president of customer experience at Roche Bros., but offerings will skew towards produce, meat, seafood, and prepared foods aimed at nearby residents who are likely to make smaller, more-frequent food purchases.
“It’s designed to create a more convenient shopping experience,” McGillivray said. “It’s really geared to the way we see customers living today.”
The store will sit on a corner of Main Street in downtown Waltham, at the ground floor of a new 269-unit apartment building next to a commuter rail stop. Peter Standish, head of development at Northland Investment Corp., which built The Merc project, considers the store an amenity for residents of the building and a draw for people who live and work nearby in downtown Waltham.