Marczyk Fine Foods celebrates 9 years with an anniversary party, and a new location

Your World Class Neighborhood Market
For immediate release;
Contact Barbara Macfarlane. 303 894-9499, or Peter Marczyk. 303 894-9499. (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
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http://www.marczyk.com

Denver, CO – In addition to celebrating their 9th Anniversary this April, Marczyk Fine Foods, at 17th and Clarkson in Denver, will be opening a second neighborhood market at the corner of Colfax and Fairfax in Denver.
Grub Down Uptown!
Friday, April 22 and Saturday, April 23, Marczyk’s will celebrate nine years as a neighborhood market with this season’s first Burger Night and an all day party of storewide discounts.
Grub Down Uptown!
When: Friday night, April 22, 5:00pm-7:30pm: Marczyk Fine Foods welcomes spring with the first Burger Night of 2011.
What: We fire up the grill and usher in another season of Friday Night Burgers. Award-winning Niman Ranch burgers, ground here, served on fresh City Bakery brioche buns.  Bring the family, join the Uptown scene, and enjoy the best burger in Denver. 
Where: On the Marczyk sidewalk, corner of 17th and Clarkson.
How Much: $6.99 for the burger and all the fixin’s: bun, lettuce, tomato, red onion, cheese, condiments. Burger night will continue every Friday, weather permitting, until it gets too cold and/or dark.
“We started burger night as a way to get Denver to try the incredible Niman beef. We’d serve 50 people on a good night,” explains Pete Marczyk. “Now we grill 300+ burgers some Fridays. I think we can safely say Marczyk Burger Night is an Uptown neighborhood tradition.”
Saturday, April 23, 8am-8pm. Thank you Denver, and thank you Uptown! Take advantage of our storewide discount of 10% off everything. Marczyk Fine Wines in included in the celebration too, with 10% off everything in the shop. “The Best Wines You’ve Never Heard Of” just got better.

Marczyk’s on Colfax
Meanwhile, almost due east of Marczyk Fine Foods I, Marczyk Fine Foods II is taking shape at the corner of Colfax and Fairfax. Located in the old Ace Hardware building, which was originally a Safeway, Marczyk Fine Foods on Colfax will feature a full service deli, meat and seafood counter, fresh produce, pantry items, dairy, and cheeses from stinky to mild. Fairfax Wines and Spirits will occupy 875 sq. ft. of the new building.

The facts on Marczyk’s on the ‘Fax:
Address
5100 E Colfax. Corner of Colfax and Fairfax.

Square Footage
6500 sq ft for the building, 18,213 for the lot.
5500 Sq ft food store to include:
• Full deli
• Fresh meat and seafood
• Grocery, including dairy
• Fresh produce
• Market prepared meals
• Cheese

History
Built in 1925 as a Safeway Grocery. Among other uses, it has been a hardware store since 1980.

Points of Interest
Fairfax Wine and Spirits, an 875 sq ft wine shop adjacent to the food store, will sell great value wines from small producers.
There will be a kitchen, outdoor seating, and 19 parking spaces.
Full glass front windows will animate the bustling market to passers by.
A beautiful wooden bow truss ceiling spans the entire space.
The pristine oak floors found under the old linoleum floor will be repurposed for the wine store.

A 2010 snapshot of Marczyk Fine Foods (now in its 9th year) at 17th and Clarkson shows what one can expect from the Colfax location:
• Marczyk’s saw over 190,000 unique transactions last year
• We maintain a frequent shopper list of over 10,000 customers
• Local charitable contributions (at cost) last year: $12,450
• Local sourcing preference for all good and services
• Total staff of 30-34 people.
• Staff is trained in open book finance, which means everyone knows the numbers, and everyone is involved in the health of the company
• Marczyk’s offers health, vision and dental insurance
• Marczyk’s has an active 401(k) plan in place for employees
FAQ’s:
Are you concerned about being located so close to the existing store?Yes and no. Back in the 30’s and 40’s, before grocery stores got to be 20,000 sq ft, Safeway stores were located as close as 12 blocks from each other. Customers would shop for the day, not the month, and many would walk. We think this way of shopping is returning: urban grocery shoppers travel an average of only 3 miles for their shopping, vs. 7 miles for a suburban shopper. Also, our customer database in Uptown keeps growing. We now have over 10,000 names in our frequent shopper list. The Colfax location will serve a number of neighborhoods that will use a neighborhood market: Mayfair, Hale, Stapleton, Hilltop, and Park Hill.

Coming out of one of America’s worst recessions, what gave you the confidence to expand?
The recession told us a few things about our customers. We believe our customers shop here because they want great tasting food. We think many Denverites stayed home and cooked during 2009 and 2010, and realized they could find really great ingredients here at Marczyk’s. They liked the taste and the value, so they’ve kept shopping with us. Also, statistics show that more and more people want to know the source of their food, and search out organic produce and meats that are raised without hormones or antibiotics.

Why Colfax?
Marczyk Fine Foods is an urban market. We need high street visibility, parking, and dense surrounding neighborhoods.  Choosing this location is not urban infill, it’s more a return back to what made Main St desirable in the first place: traffic, both pedestrian and vehicular. A supportive community. (For example, more that 56 people showed up for the liquor license hearing.) Plus, Colfax is Denver’s Main St.

Business History
Pete Marczyk has always had a passion for great food. While working for Merrill Lynch as a broker, he started to create the plan that would become Marczyk Fine Foods. The idea was simple: create a scalable version of the old-school neighborhood market. Focal points of differentiation were to be the sourcing ethos, supply chain, and service.
2000: Pete and his wife Barbara Macfarlane signed a lease on the current market at 17th and Clarkson in Denver’s Uptown neighborhood.
April, 2002: Marczyk Fine Foods opened its doors.
Fall, 2004: Pete’s brother Paul joined Marczyk Fine Foods. Paul brought much needed focus on what the business could do well, i.e. its core competencies, and deleted non-core services, such as delivery and gift baskets. He focused on prepared foods and meats, with the mantra of “consistency and reliability”. If customers couldn’t rely on Marczyk’s for great lasagna, every day, then we weren’t doing our job.
He and Pete went from department to department, finding economies of scale, defining and refining the retail proposition of Marczyk’s. As changes evolved, the market went from being a weekend destination for gourmets to a neighborhood market. MFF is now a neighborhood grocery where people can get breakfast, lunch and dinner, and find ingredients for a special meal.
Summer, 2010: Marczyk Fine Foods signs a contract to purchase the old Ace Hardware at Colfax and Fairfax from the Baker family. Store #2 is on its way! Great neighborhood markets are part of the fabric of all great cities. People in this busy world need a market that has easy parking, all the ingredients they need…and being local and family owned is compelling too.
January, 2011: The wine store license is granted, and construction begins on the new Marczyk Fine Foods on Colfax!
June, 2011: Marczyk Fine Foods on Colfax will open.

The Uptown Neighborhood
Marczyk’s has become a true anchor in Uptown Denver:
• One of Uptown’s favorite events is Marczyk’s Friday Burger Night. Pete started this event so people would taste Niman Ranch beef, and it’s now grown into a delicious neighborhood get-together.
• Surrounding realtors use Marczyk’s in their marketing brochures.
• 2004: Marczyk’s Downtown Denver Award from the Downtown Denver Partnership.
• Numerous “Best Of’s” from Westword, 5280, and the Denver Post.
• And most importantly: an ever increasing customer count.

Marczyk’s on Colfax
Peter Marczyk, Founder and President
Pete Marczyk envisioned Marczyk Fine Foods over 10 years ago. His 7 years as a broker at Merrill Lynch gave him the skills to draft a compelling business plan. Everything, from the layout of the meat cases to the products on the shelves, is from his vision. During the past 8 years he has worked every position in the store, creating buying systems in each department. Peter also had the smarts to hire Paul Marczyk, because sometimes the entrepreneur is not the one to run the shop. Pete continues to push his long-term vision of sustainability and growth in a scalable neighborhood market concept.

Paul Marczyk, General Manager
Paul was a leader in the fast growing craft brew industry in the 80’s and 90’s. He started as a brewer at Wynkoop Brewing Company, then moved up the ladder at other local breweries. After opening and running 2 brewpubs in Cali, Colombia, Paul returned to the states (newly fluent in Spanish) and was quickly hired by a floundering Flying Dog Brewery to bring it into the black. Then he came to Marczyk’s. At Marczyk Fine Foods, Paul teaches with the mantra of “consistency and reliability”. He trains every employee in open book finance, and continues to keep all eyes on the top and bottom lines. Paul strives for daily incremental improvement in all we do.

Rob Jones, Chief Financial Officer
Rob graduated from Northeastern University in Boston with joint degrees in Finance & Accounting, and earned his MBA from Bentley College in Waltham, MA. Here in Denver Rob serves on several non-profit boards, holding offices as treasurer and president. When Rob came to Marczyk’s, he took over every part of the financials, including managing over 6,000 SKUs and over 60 vendors who deliver weekly, some daily. Over the course of a year, he revamped Marczyk’s entire financial system. Rob’s mission is to provide world-class back office systems supporting the Marczyk’s vision.

Barbara Macfarlane, Founder, Marketing Director
Barbara is the marketing director of Marczyk Fine Foods, and is responsible for their brand building and placement in the Denver grocery world. She has been in the Denver marketing and PR world for 25 years and has built excellent relationships with the press community. Successes include articles in all the local print and online media, Sunset Magazine, Cooking Light, The Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times. Barbara is also responsible for website optimization and social media updates. Her goal is to keep Marczyk’s “top of mind” for grocery shoppers looking for fine, fresh food. Barbara has succeeded in creating a brand equity which far exceeds other business of our scale.

Tryba Architects, trybaarchitects.com
Tryba Architects brings to life well-designed places. Respectful of the impact their work has on many stakeholders, Tryba designs each project to maximize value for public, cultural and institutional clients regardless of the scale. Design services have been developed to lead complex, schedule-driven projects with an emphasis on highest quality, enduring value and sustainability. Tryba Architects has been awarded the American Institute of Architects 2007 Western Mountain Region Firm of the Year, 2004 Colorado Firm of the Year and the 2003 Denver Firm of the Year. In 2006, Tryba Architects was recognized by the Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce as Small Business of the Year for Leadership and Commitment to the Region.

Sprung Construction, sprungconstruction.com
Founded in 1976, Sprung Construction is dedicated to quality construction of unique contemporary commercial spaces, high-end modern homes, and historic restoration of Denver landmarks through applied knowledge, ethical practices, exceptional service, and expert craftsmanship. From core and shell to tenant finish, retail, restaurants, mixed-use, and work/live spaces, they utilize environmentally friendly practices and materials to build custom properties that are visually appealing, structurally sound, energy efficient, state-of-the-art, and sustainable. Under the leadership of Tom Sprung they have figured prominently in the revitalization of downtown Denver, particularly LODO, as well as the rapid development of greater Denver and surrounding areas.