After 27 years in the discount fashion retail business, John Gabriel Sr. has switched gears to the wholesale food industry.
After only a month of preparation, the ribbon was cut and wholesale grocery store Mill Street Merchant opened the doors Friday to its first storefront in Uniontown.
Mr. Gabriel and his brothers were bought out from their business Gabriel Brothers, now Gabe’s, in March 2012. Since then he’s has been itching to get back in the business.
Following the somewhat impromptu opening last week, the new 6,000-square-foot store is offering Uniontown residents and retailers wholesale foods at a 30 percent to 70 percent discount, the company’s CEO Patrick Esposito said.
The business aims to solve two problems, both locally and globally.
Locally, downtown Uniontown is sparse in terms of grocery stores. When Hopwood resident and Mill Street Merchant shopper LouAnn Taggart, 62, visits her brother, she’s often left running to the nearest convenience store or CVS for basic food items, she said.
Uniontown also has a large elderly population, with four senior centers surrounding the 50 Mill Street location. Mr. Gabriel said Mill Street Merchant hopes to serve them.
That’s what brought Logic Lane LLC, Mill Street Merchant’s parent company, back to Mr. Gabriel’s hometown. The town has been loyal to their family since the 1930s, he said.
Mr. Gabriel plans to expand to other locations to increase Mill Street Merchant’s buying power and stock quantity, but first he’s focusing on turning a profit in Uniontown.
Globally, the company wants to help curb the 40 percent of food wasted each year. Much of the $165 billion worth of uneaten food is lost long before it hits the dining room table, during the distribution process, according to a Natural Resources Defense Council study from August 2012.
“We always think about attacking the issues at home but in reality we should be attacking them at a business level as well,” Mr. Esposito said.
The company is offering products that are close to their expiration dates free with purchase at the register and also partnering with local charities to give away excess supplies.
Mill Street Merchants is already stocked with about $100,000 worth of inventory, from 99-cent Heinz yellow mustard to a $24 case of Slim Jims. There is no backstock, Mr. Gabriel said, because everything is out on the shelves with simple signs, pricing each item individually.
“We’re not pretty, but I don’t think people will mind jumping over boxes [for a deal],” he said.
For those looking to save big with even larger quantities, Mill Street Merchants also offers discount prices in a 6,000-square-foot warehouse below the retail space, Mr. Esposito said.
Right now, the company’s target consumers are residents, with 80 percent of its opening weekend shoppers being those looking to stock up or who have large families to feed.
Mr. Gabriel said the goal is to expand its reach to retailers through its Logic Lane website, already in place.
The company, which started in 2014, connects vendors and retailers with wholesale goods.
Ideally in the next two months, buyers could browse Mill Street Merchant’s in-store stock online and then order and have it ready for delivery in the warehouse in one click, Mr. Gabriel said.
Even though Mill Street Merchant’s competitors are nationally recognized brands like Sam’s Club and Aldi, Mr. Gabriel believes they have the home court advantage in addition to a longstanding family history in the wholesale market.
“We have a lot of experience in the company,” Mr. Gabriel said. “We’re not going to let it fail, I can tell you that.”
Lindsay Moore: 412-263-1969 or lmoore@post-gazette.com. Twitter: @_lindsaymoore
First Published: July 13, 2016, 4:00 a.m.