Business & Tech

A Peek Inside GFS Marketplace

The new grocery store on 27th Street opened earlier this month and held a ribbon cutting Tuesday.

GFS Marketplace isn't your run-of-the-mill grocery store.

Residents in the Franklin and Oak Creek area are beginning to find that out, judging by the large number of people in the store Tuesday morning before and after a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Actually, people have been flocking to the business, 6919 S. 27th St., since it opened earlier this month: GFS personnel said the store set a company-wide record for opening-day sales.

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The 16,000-square-foot store is something of a mix between a traditional grocery store and a warehouse. GFS is known primarily as a food-service distributor but also has 155 Marketplace stores across the country, including five in Wisconsin.

That gives customers the opportunity to purchase items in bulk — it's not a jar of mayonnaise, it's a tub; it's not a roll of toilet paper, it's a box.

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Franklin Mayor Tom Taylor said at the ribbon cutting he has been impressed by the entire operation: the look of the store, friendly employees, 35 good-paying jobs and food that looks like it has been shined.

A lot of restaurant owners were eagerly anticipating GFS' opening, Taylor said.

The Franklin store is the second in the Milwaukee area. The other one is on Miller Park Way.

"We are excited to be opening our fifth store in Wisconsin and believe GFS Marketplace is the perfect fit for Franklin and the surrounding communities," President Jay Zylstra said in a news release.


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