Cub's new northwest store opens as new home of Rochester liquor store

Jeff Kiger, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
·3 min read

May 1—ROCHESTER — On Thursday, Cub Foods will officially open the doors of

its northwest Rochester center

, which will be the new home of its Med City liquor store.

A soft opening is happening May 1 for friends and family of the team of 110 to 115 full- and part-time employees that staff the new location.

"Even as buying habits shift in this very dynamic marketplace, we strive to leverage our deep local roots and cater to local tastes, with great assortment, selection and in-stock position, and the freshest product, while also supporting local organizations," stated Cub CEO Andre Persaud in the announcement of the opening. "Our new Rochester store is a great example of how we are staying true to the community, while also evolving to meet our customers' changing needs and continue to play a part in their everyday lives."

The new 88,500-square-foot grocery store stands at 2480 Scott Road NW on the corner of Rochester's Commerce Drive Northwest and Scott Road Northwest. It's just north of the

Staybridge Suites hotel

and across Commerce Drive from the First Alliance Credit Union commercial center.

This extends the Minnesota grocer's reach into north Rochester, after

operating in the southeast quadrant for 38 years

. Cub invested between $6 million and $7 million to build

its original south Rochester store at 1021 15th Ave. SE in 1986.

As part of the new Rochester launch, Cub is moving its Cub Wine & Spirits shop from the original south location to a 8,500-square-foot space in the new northwest store.

The new liquor store will offer a larger selection of beer, wine and spirits plus a new tasting bar area to showcase sampling and educational events to a "more interactive store experience."

The new northwest complex is a notable one for Cub as it means introducing Rochester to updated store design with new features such as an in-store prepared sushi station, a new cake decorating station in the bakery department, an expanded floral department and an e-commerce hub. The e-commerce hub offers customers a drive-thru avenue to pick up their online orders

Building in Rochester's booming northwest quadrant means the new Cub complex stands in the shadow of Costco and a few hundred feet away from the north Rochester Aldi grocery store. Hy-Vee's fourth Rochester store, which is slightly larger than the new Cub store, is just a mile and a half away.

Having that much retail competition nearby doesn't bother Cub. Then- Cub CEO Brian Audette commented on that at the store groundbreaking ceremony in July 2023.

"We see that as a positive. ... There's a lot of growth on this side of Rochester. Retail traffic will help us get off to a quick start, but we're certainly building this knowing that there's more growth to come," he said. "Plus, we certainly do have a product assortment that is very tailored to the market and the Minnesota community. We're going to do everything we can to have the right assortment both in our liquor store and the grocery store to meet the local community needs."