Farm Stores employees take customers' orders at their cars and then bring products out to them.
An employee delivers food to a driver at an existing Farm Stores location. (Courtesy of Jordan Slack)New Jersey drivers can already get coffee, fast food, cash and even beer without leaving their cars. Soon, they'll be able to get groceries, too.
Making this possible is the mission of Farm Stores, a drive-through convenience store that plans to open 100 locations throughout the state in the next 10 years.
First on the list for development: Union and Somerset counties, where company executives are scouting sites and hope to open a store within the next six months. They have not yet chosen specific locations.
The Miami-based brand already operates at about 70 locations across Florida, but executives say they now see an opportunity to expand the chain's reach.
Many people often travel between South Florida and the Northeast, creating familiarity with Farm Stores, said Chief Operating Officer Maurice Bared. On top of that, New Jersey's sometimes harsh winter weather can make people dread stepping outdoors.
As a result, Bared said, he expects that a large amount of people will welcome the chance to have groceries delivered to their cars. The company is specifically marketing itself to busy mothers tasked with daily child care.
"We're hyper-focused on Mom," Bared said. "Seventy-five percent of our customer base is female."
So, what can Mom buy?
Farm Stores offers name-brand grocery items, take-home meals and household goods, as well as fresh produce and dairy. There's also an in-house brand, which includes milk and ice cream, among other items. The company's most popular product is hot, freshly-baked bread, Bared said.
One thing New Jersey stores won't have: alcohol. The state's liquor laws governing retail stores would make selling beer and wine impractical, said Joe D'Albero, one of the developers.
Other than that, D'Albero said the company will be able to adjust its array of products to fit customers' demands. He plans to build stores close to neighborhoods, so busy parents can get to and from the sites quickly.
"My wife is a stay-at-home mother, and I just see that she struggles with getting everyday tasks accomplished," he said. "Most families go through the same thing, with just trying to get the basics done when they have little kids to attend to."
Farm Stores is developing a mobile app that will enable customers to preorder from a particular store and pick up the items as soon as five minutes later.
But it's the core concept of service-on-the-go that D'Albero thinks will appeal to people most.
"We really think that the challenging pace of New Jersey and the climate that we have here, it would do very well for people to be serviced from the comfort of their car," D'Albero said.
He and his fellow developers are banking on being right.
Marisa Iati may be reached at miati@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @Marisa_Iati. Find NJ.com on Facebook.