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Hubbell & Hudson Market and Bistro

This 19,800-square-foot store in the affluent Houston suburb of The Woodlands was developed as a place where the community could shop, eat, cook and learn.

By Nicole Potenza Denis

Hubbell & Hudson Market and Bistro is the brainchild of Cary Attar, former CEO of Fox & Obel in Chicago (who has also spent time at Dean & Deluca, Central Market and HEB). It’s named after Attar’s son Hudson’s great-, great-, great-grandparents, who were cattle ranchers.

History…

The store opened in The Woodlands, Texas, an affluent Houston suburb, in November 2008, amid the recession. “The economy hit us like a ton of bricks,” notes Attar, who launched the store with his core team of Dirk Laukine, lead investor; Fortino Godinez, buyer and director of specialty foods; Patrick Rebiere, director of bakeries; Edel Goncalves, executive chef; and 14 others from his specialty food retail past. “We had to tighten our belts by tightening our expenses. We reduced labor, wrap and supply. We aggressively negotiated with suppliers for better cost of goods,” Attar explains. “Making it to our one-year anniversary and being profitable,” was a milestone, he notes. He says that customers moved away from luxury and more toward lifestyle and nutritional products at this time. “We did, to our surprise, see strong sales the first year in categories such as gluten-free, local, salty snacks and beverages.”

The store managed to get on the radar of people in the community and beyond. “In a span of 30 days, local purveyors were coming in from off the street and as far as Austin with their products. It created a whole new growing category,” explains Godinez.

Points of Distinction…

The 19,800-square-foot Hubbell & Hudson is a hybrid operation, containing a specialty foods store with 10,000 items in 16 departments including butcher, seafood and produce; a bistro with menu selections such as a house dry-aged 14-ounce bone-in rib eye; and a Viking Cooking School that offers hands-on classes, such as pasta making, pizza workshops or demonstrations like cheese and wine tastings. A staff of 80 full-timers and 25 part-timers keeps all parts of the operation running smoothly.

Hubbell & Hudson is a free-flow store, explains Attar, meaning shoppers aren’t forced to walk in one particular direction. The Beer Alley, for example, contains more than 400 beers including crafts, microbrews and imports, and is housed in a refrigerated 35 degree F. tunnel. The retailer also offers a Sip & Shop program where guests can purchase a glass of wine to drink while they shop. Hubbell & Hudson always has at least ten bottles open from which customers can choose.

The retailer engages in a range of outreach in the local community and beyond. Most recently, the market raised money for UNICEF’s TAP project, a program that helps bring clean drinking water to Third World countries.

Top-selling Products…

Dry grocery leads in sales, accounting for 12 percent of total revenue. Lifestyle products such as Pop Chips air popped potato chips and Food For Life gluten-free English muffins are popular. Top local sellers include Queen Bee handmade gourmet marshmallows and Wateroak Farms goat milk yogurt.

Private-Label Merchandising...

The store carries more than 400 different private-label products ranging from pumpkin butter to pancake mixes to 30-year aged balsamic vinegar. “Many of our private-label products are cross-marketed with our bistro, with promo copy on the packaging,” says Attar.

How They Keep Innovating…

Attar is opening H&H Urban Express—a 500-square-foot specialty food market and casual dining area that will house about 1,500 products. The store is slated to open in the fourth quarter of this year in The Woodlands.—N.P.D.