Even As Many Retailers Downsize, Gordon Food Service Is Opening Larger Stores

And Is Doing So Through The Adaptive Reuse of Big Box Real Estate

Gordon Food Service is one of the oldest and largest foodservice distribution companies in North America.

And for the past 45 years, it has also operated grocery stores that sell products in case and unit quantities, similar to warehouse clubs like Costco Wholesale, Sam’s Club and BJ’s Wholesale Club - but on a much smaller scale.

Unlike warehouse clubs, Gordon Food Service stores - there are now more than 180 in 12 states - do not charge membership fees and are open to the general public.

Until recently, most Gordon Food Service stores were approximately 15,000 square feet, or slightly larger than a typical corner drugstore.

Most stores had been internally developed by the Company and built new from the ground up.

However, many recently opened Gordon Food Service stores are much large - though not at the size of the 100,000+ square foot stores operated by other bulk quantity sellers like Costco, Sam’s Club, and BJ’s.

At least not yet.

When Gordon Food Service entered the Houston market in 2023, it did so with six stores, each that was roughly twice the size of its original prototype.

All six stores were backfills of 2nd generation space that had been vacated by Big Box retailers.

Other recently opened Gordon Food Service Stores have also been roughly twice the size of its former 15,000 square foot prototype.

In particular, the Company has been a prolific user of Big Box space vacated by office supply retailers like Office Max, Office Depot and Staples.

For instance, the first Gordon Food Service store in the Memphis area opened in 2022 in a building that was previously occupied by Office Max.

Last year Gordon Food Service store opened in a 28,000 square foot former Office Depot in Key Largo, Florida.

Gordon Food Service is also planning to backfill a 30,000 square foot former Staples for its first location in Jacksonville, Florida that is slated to open later this year.

The Company is also in the process of relocating its store in Benton Harbor, Michigan into a nearby freestanding building that was formerly home to Staples and nearly twice the size of its current 16,000 square foot store.

But Gordon Food Service has not stopped with backfills of real estate formerly occupied by office supply retailers.

Or even at store sizes in the 30,000 square foot range.

Last November Gordon Food Service completed an adaptive reuse of a 50,000 square foot former Best Buy in Ohio.

This new store is roughly three times the size of its previous area location.

Future Gordon Food Service stores may even be larger.

And perhaps even approach Costco-like size.

Last summer an entity linked to Gordon Food Service acquired a 200,000 square foot former Kmart building in Thornton, Colorado - a state where Gordon Food Service does not yet have any grocery store locations.

While Gordon Food Service has not yet revealed specific plans for the Colorado site, the size of the building it acquired - and its success with Big Box adaptive reuse conversions - invites the question:

Could a 100,000+ square foot store be next for Gordon Food Service?

If so, it would almost certainly be a product of Big Box adaptive reuse - and quite possible Gordon Food Service’s largest retail grocery store project yet.