MILWAUKEE, Wis. – The folks at Sendik's Food Market, a third-generation family-owned chain of 12 Milwaukee-area grocery stores, decided several years ago to “take a fresh look at the concept of a convenience store,” writes the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel, and what they came up with is concept that focuses on fresh foods.

Sendik's Fresh2GO convenience stores, described as an open concept store with fresh fruits, vegetables, fresh made paninis, salads, meat, seafood and flowers, has been tweaked over the years, but now the company is ready to open up more stores.

"We have really taken our time before we started rolling more out, to really fine-tune and make sure we've got them right," Sendik's co-owner Ted Balistreri told the news source.

The Fresh2GO stores are typically 5,000 to 7,500 square feet. "We really like the smaller format," Balistreri told the news source, adding, "Our feeling is this is really closer to the way people are living their lives these days. …One of the most valuable things people have is time. Busy families, busy working people, they don't have enough time," he added. "This allows them that convenience in a little bit more of an upscale setting."

The retailer has, in a way, returned to its roots with it convenience store concept, notes the news source. "Our history is really geared toward this," Balistreri said. "We were a fruit and vegetable market forever, and it was only in the 1970s that we started getting into other things."