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When the people of Massachusetts think of grocery stores, the Roche Brothers supermarket chain is certain to come to mind. With their many years of serving the area with fresh meat, bread, produce, and more, they have evolved into a modern grocery store suited to meet the demands of today’s modern consumer.
Roche Brothers Company Profile
Roche Brothers Supermarkets, Inc. operates Roche Brothers, Sudbury Farms, and Brothers Marketplace grocery stores. The chain was founded in 1952 by two brothers: Pat and Bud Roche. The first store was located in Roslindale, Massachusetts and has expanded throughout the years to include stores all across Southern Massachusetts. The current headquarters is in Wellesley.
The chain claims to offer the highest quality meat, produce, and seafood. They also offer popular brand name foods, home delivery, and full-service catering. The chain is now operated by its second generation of owners, Rick and Ed Roche.
Locations & Products
In 1952, the brothers Pat and Bud Roche opened the first Roche Brothers store in Roslindale. It was a meat and produce shop that expanded to include groceries in 1957. From there, the company furthered its growth by opening a store in Needham in 1959. Another store opened in West Roxbury in 1967 and another one in Westwood in 1970. The Westwood store was the first to adopt a “department” concept with the store featuring its own bakery, florist, and even a restaurant. By 1981, there were 5 stores with one opening in Natick in 1972 and another in Wellesley in 1981.
The first Sudbury Farms store opened in 1980 in Sudbury. It featured a large bulk department, a deli kitchen with homemade entrees and sides, and a fresh fish department selling Foley Fish. These concepts were then introduced into all the Roche Brothers stores, and a second Sudbury Farms location was opened in Randolph in 1983 with a third in Needham in 1990.
The Millis location was built in 1988. It included all the best features from the other locations but with some new concepts. The Millis store houses a Food Court which sells hot and cold prepared foods. The Food Court idea was a success, and they were added to most of the other stores and renamed Kitchen Departments. In the following years, larger and larger locations were built, including the stores in Bridgewater, Norton, Acton, and Quincy (the largest in the chain).
The North Shore community got their first Roche Brothers in Burlington in 2001. The store in West Roxbury was replaced with a 46,000-square foot store, followed by the store in Easton in 2003. These stores included state-of-the-art technology and merchandising. The chain expanded yet again to open stores in Mashpee, Marshfield, and Westborough. The Westborough location added organic, natural, and fresh products to the existing concepts from the previous stores.
Roche Brothers and Sudbury Farms have grown to become one of the most innovative supermarkets in the grocery industry. The chain currently operates 17 stores located throughout Greater Boston, Metro-West, and Southern Massachusetts.
To recap, stores can be found in Acton, Bridgewater, Downtown Crossing, Easton, Marshfield, Mashpee, Millis, Natick, Needham, Norton, Quincy, Sudbury, Wellesley, West Roxbury, Westborough, Westwood, and the corporate office in Wellesley Hills. Roche Brothers also manages Brothers Marketplace. The two Brothers Marketplace stores were opened in Weston and Medfield in 2014.
The stores offer main grocery staples, produce, bakery, meat, deli, kitchen, seafood, floral, organic, and gluten-free products. They make market prepared meals including salads, pizza, pasta, beef, chicken, and seafood. Roche Brothers offers catering services which include party planning and wait staff. The catering menu includes appetizers, main course meals, cheese boards, platters, sides dishes, sandwich and cold cut trays, and desserts. The supermarket chain also sells its products online. Online orders can be picked up in-store by the customer or delivered.
Meat & Poultry
Roche Brothers began as a neighborhood meat market in 1952. The meat section remains an anchor in the Roche supermarkets today. The meat department holds expertise in the handling of fresh beef, pork, lamb, and chicken.
Deli
Roche Brothers pride themselves in the quality and freshness of their deli meats and homemade deli salads. In 1978 Bud Roche made the first pound of their homemade potato salad which remains a customer favorite to this day.
Seafood
The grocery chain’s New England heritage shows in their fresh variety of fish and seafood. The chain sells favorites from Foley Fish including New England groundfish and all-natural scallops. The seafood department also offers oven-ready entrees.
Produce
Daily excursions to the New England Produce Center in Chelsea since 1952 ensure the freshest produce reaches the stores. It is delivered directly to each store, along with locally grown vegetables and fresh cut fruit.
Bakery
Roche Brothers bakery offers the standard grocery store variety of breads, cakes, cookies, and pies.
Cheese
The chain sells house-made mozzarella and cheese spreads, French triple-creme, and Italian Pecorino. The cheese department can help customers match cheeses with accompaniments or create a custom cheese board.
Groceries
The grocery aisles offer consumers savings on Food Club and Full Circle brands. The store also carries most national brands.
Gluten-Free
Roche Brothers was one of the first supermarket chains to offer gluten-free sections. They sell hundreds of certified gluten-free items under brand names like Schar, Glutino, Annie’s, and Bob’s Red Mill. Some newer additions include Barilla Gluten-Free Pasta, Aleia’s Stuffing and Croutons, I Heart Keenwah, and Wow Cookies.
Floral
The floral department offers bouquets, corsages, and single-stemmed flowers. Associates can design custom arrangements for special occasions like weddings and proms.
Beer and Wine
Roche Brothers now offer beer and wine in select locations. These include Sudbury, Westwood, Marshfield, Wellesley, and Downtown Crossing.
The Roche Brothers Kitchen
The kitchen offers prepared foods and dinners that are ready for the customer to take home and enjoy. Options include sandwiches, pizza, calzones, dips, salsas, rotisserie chicken, appetizers, soup, salad, sushi, side dishes, meat entrees, homemade meals, and a hot bar.
Catering
Roche Brothers offers catering for business gatherings, at-home parties, and special events. Party planners are available for customer assistance. Catering options can be either casual or formal and include everything from appetizers to dessert. Orders can be ordered online and either picked up or delivered.
Kids Club
Roche Brothers offers a Kids Club which is meant to engage the chain’s youngest shoppers. It helps children learn how to make healthy food choices. Members of the Kids Club enjoy benefits like a free fruit or flower of the month, a cupcake on their birthday, and special events.
Recipes
The website features a section with some of the store’s favorite recipes. The recipes are also included in the chain’s weekly circulars, Tidbits Magazine, and the chain’s partners at Foley Fish and Certified Angus Beef. Customers can rate and comment on the recipes.
Pharmacy
The chain used to have its own pharmacy, but it was discontinued in 2017. All customer prescriptions were moved to a local CVS Pharmacy in Norton, Massachusetts.
Return Policy
Roche Brothers will refund a customer’s money if they are not fully satisfied with a purchase. The freshness of the company’s seafood, meat, and produce are guaranteed with a double the customer’s money back refund on these items. The store requests a receipt for the customer’s purchase before issuing a refund or offering double money back.
Other Features on the Website
Customers can search for special events, blog posts, career opportunities, current advertisements, newsletters, and locations. They can also shop online or join the company’s email list. In addition, they can check the balance on any Roche Brothers gift card they might have received.
Roche Brothers Headquarters Information
Key Executives
- President: Mr. Gary Pfeil
- Co-Owner and Vice Chairman of the Board: Mr. Patrick Roche
- Co-Owner: Mr. Rick Roche
- Co-Owner: Mr. Jay Roche
- Co-Owner: Mr. Bud Roche
Main Office Address
70 Hastings Street
Wellesley Hills, MA 02481
Phone
(781) 235-9400
Fax
(781) 235-3153
Website
www.rochebros.com
Home Delivery Helpdesk
Home Delivery Helpdesk Phone: (781) 694-5280
Home Delivery Helpdesk Email: [email protected]
Catering
For information and pricing, customers should contact their local Roche Brothers location. Locations can be found here: www.rochebros.com/locations
Customer Service
Support Center Phone: (781) 235-9400
Supper Center Email: [email protected]
To Request a Charitable Donation
Social Media
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RocheBrosSupermarket/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Roche_Bros
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1Yd-LEu8yBhuH5dl-L8fdA/featured
Hours of Operation
Mon-Sat: 9am-5pm; Sunday: Closed
Conclusion
The Roche Brothers grocery store chain has a rich and productive history ever since the inception of its first location. It has grown from a meat market into a full-fledged modern grocery store chain that features all the products, service, and convenience modern grocery shoppers have come to expect. They continue to offer fresh meat and produce, name brand grocery items, seafood, a bakery, and plenty of ready-to-eat homemade items. These options plus the ability to shop online and pick up later, or even have orders delivered, makes the lives of their customers easier.
The company continues to grow and flourish while consistently offering improvements to the way people shop. Roche Brothers will long be a familiar household name in the grocery business in Massachusetts.
