Dive Brief:

• The first in Roche Bros. Supermarkets' planned series of small-format, fresh-focused stores opened in Weston, MA, over the weekend. 
• The 11,100 square food store is a considerable departure from the 30,000 to 70,000 square foot supermarkets that Roche Bros. already operates throughout the Boston area. 
• The new format, called Brothers Marketplace, will specialize in fresh foods and artisanal products. 

Dive Insight:

There's a lot of excitement about this farmers-market style format among retailers and the folks who follow that industry. The expectation is that Brothers Marketplace could be the start of a smaller type of "destination shopping" experience for food.

We're excited too. But for a slightly different reason -- the second Brothers Marketplace is slated to open in Medfield, MA, in July, and as we've said before, we really want to see the mural the company has commissioned for that location.