McCaffrey's to Open in Newtown as Early as July

McCaffrey’s will be open in Newtown as early as July, owner Jim McCaffrey told Patch Thursday. The family-owned supermarket chain will open its fourth store in the Village at Newtown Shopping Center where is currently located. 

, however  in order to obtain regulatory clearance from the Federal Trade Commission to operate more than a dozen other stores in the Philadelphia region, Giant spokesman Christopher Brand said.

McCaffrey’s is awaiting approval from the Federal Trade Commission but its owner expects to complete the purchase of the local Genuardi’s by the end of June. When that happens, the store will close for a week so it can be restocked and cleaned, McCaffrey added.

The supermarket will be open to the public in early July, McCaffrey hopes. “If things go properly, we should be open the weekend before July 4,” he said.

McCaffrey added that the store will undergo renovations once it opens. 

McCaffrey’s, which has locations in Yardley, Princeton, N.J. and West Windsor, N.J., specializes in prepared foods and natural and organic options, McCaffrey said. McCaffrey opened his first store, the location in Yardley, in 1986.

“Prepared foods is our forte,” McCaffrey said. The supermarket chain has a central kitchen in Langhorne, where 60 employees cook fresh foods daily for the three – soon to be four – stores.

Prepared foods sold at the stores include everything from chicken pot pies to salmon, sushi, sandwiches, lasagna and more.

Like the other McCaffrey's markets, the Newtown location will feature a cafe-style eating area where customers can enjoy selections from the salad bar, deli and more.

McCaffrey said Newtown is a “great community” that he believes will embrace the store and its offerings.  He added the store is excited that it will soon be able to bring fresh produce year-round to the community with the construction of a 50,000-square-foot greenhouse in Lower Makefield.

McCaffrey's is partnering with Bright Farms, a company that finances, designs and operates greenhouses, to build a greenhouse on Patterson Farm. A variety of hydroponic and all-natural tomatoes, greens, herbs and vegetables will be grown there and sold at McCaffrey’s markets.

McCaffrey said he believes his stores will be the first in the country to take on such an endeavor. “It has an educational component to it, too,” he said, adding local students will be able to visit the greenhouse and learn about hydroponic growing practices.

McCaffrey said he hopes to retain as many current Genuardi’s employees as possible, adding they’ve been through a lot of uncertainty this year.

In January, Giant announced its plans to purchase 16 Genuardi’s stores in the Greater Philadelphia region, including the one in Newtown. However, the deal was subject to FTC approval.

The FTC is the federal agency billed with regulating consumer protections. The close proximity of the proposed Giant to other locations raised a red flag for the agency.

Giant recently completed a renovation of its store in Middletown Township, located off the Newtown Bypass in the Summit Square Shopping Center. Giant already has several locations in Bucks County, including Yardley, New Hope, Levittown, Southampton and Morrisville.