NOLA’s New Express Stop

Actor and New Orleans native Wendell Pierce’s new Sterling Xpress stores are focused on reversing some of the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina

There’s a new convenience store concept in The Big Easy thanks to actor and New Orleans native Wendell Pierce and his business partners who are focused on reversing some of the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina, which can still be felt in the low-income New Orleans (NOLA) neighborhoods where Pierce grew up.

Sterling Fresh Foods LLC is parent company to Sterling Xpress convenience stores and Sterling Farms full-service supermarkets. Both of these new ventures were created with the goal of placing stores with fresh produce, meats and seafood in urban “food deserts” — neighborhoods where residents must travel more than a mile to a store selling fresh food.

For Pierce, best known for his roles in television series “The Wire” and “Treme,” it’s a process that has just begun. “It’s about sustenance: sustenance of families and sustenance of the community itself,” he said. “Economic development is the social-justice movement of the 21st century — that’s my mantra. The most important thing to me is creating a relationship with the community; creating an economic engine as an opportunity for them just to have access to decent food.”

Convenience Store News recently caught up with Dave Cody, general manager at Sterling Xpress, to uncover some exclusive details about NOLA’s new express stop.

The first Sterling Xpress store opened in spring 2013 near the Lower Garden District and St. Thomas neighborhoods of New Orleans, Cody explained. The store sits on a major street, so it gets lots of traffic. It measures about 3,000 square feet and holds 3,000 SKUs.

In the future, all Sterling Xpress stores will be based on this model, but in the meantime, the company rebranded two “legacy” stores that are considerably smaller, he said.

The inaugural Sterling Xpress store stands alone in an area without many other consumer services. Although the location was risky, the store is already reaping the rewards. “So far, it has served us well — well beyond our initial expectations,” Cody reported.

The building was designed “with the needs of a modern c-store in mind; in particular, the flexibility to modify our product offerings in line with changes in the surrounding neighborhood,” he said, noting that the merchandising at Sterling Xpress is a continual evolution. “We are still experimenting with the right combination of products. We add and subtract from our product line every month.”

The “fresh” in Sterling Fresh Foods is carried over to Sterling Xpress. The first location began as a convenience store with the addition of hot lunches and a modest selection of fresh fruit.

“What is unique to Xpress [in the c-store channel] is the path to a greater proportion of fresh inventory,” Cody maintained. “We do believe that we are uniquely positioned to supply the highest standards of nutrition, especially if and when consumer preferences change.”

Both retail concepts under Sterling Fresh Foods are serving a demographic base of consumers with a much higher than average need for transportation. The percentage of U.S. households without access to an automobile is 9 percent. “In the neighborhoods surrounding our convenience stores, it is 11 percent to 25 percent,” he said. “We would indeed like our Sterling Xpress stores to serve our customers who are without automobiles, and we believe that we do.”

The majority of Sterling Xpress’ customers, though, do drive to the store. “We are fortunate to operate in locations where we can serve the needs of many passing motorists who may live in other neighborhoods,” Cody continued. “They need access to healthy foods as much as anyone else, especially when pressed for time.”

It is interesting to note that for Sterling Farms grocery customers without personal transportation, the company offers the Sterling Shuttle, which provides a free ride home for those who purchase $50 or more in groceries. This service is not available at the Xpress stores.

Naturally, there are shared synergies between the two chains — the grocery business and the convenience business. The major synergy is the possibility of joint branding.

“Sterling Fresh Foods LLC sees enormous untapped business potential in underserved communities, especially among African-Americans. We believe that we can build loyalty among that segment with a number of different business models (c-stores, supermarkets, small groceries, etc.),” Cody said. “We also believe that the tastes and preferences of African-Americans are evolving, and we plan to evolve with them. Eventually, Sterling will be a brand that is recognized in many urban areas, which will be underserved no more.”

Beyond the three Xpress stores currently operating, the company owns other convenience stores in NOLA, but is currently leasing them out to third parties. “I think we own four other gas stations/c-stores and we are evaluating what to do with those properties,” he said.

The parent company does have expansion plans and is looking at other food deserts beyond NOLA. Such areas exist in many cities and urban areas across the United States, according to Cody. “The challenge for Sterling Fresh Foods, and for any other retailer, is to play the real estate game wisely. Some locations are appropriate for a full-service supermarket, [while] other locations might fit better with a smaller footprint and smaller inventory like Xpress.”