With so many discount grocers, drugstores and dollar stores selling refrigerated food these days, groceries can pretty much be bought any place that has shopping carts. Kuhn’s Market, headquartered in Ross, has held on to its position as a family-owned local grocer for nearly 50 years despite increasing competition for Pittsburghers’ food dollars. “Our business has been strong … so we just keep doing what we’re doing. Because, evidently, customers see a value in it,â€? said President Joe Dentici, 72, a Franklin Park resident. He and his brother, Tom Dentici, bought the first Kuhn’s store from an operator on Observatory Hill in 1967 but kept the name. They expanded to as many as nine stores over the years, with stores in Bethel Park and Cranberry closing in 2002 and 2011, respectively. The influx of discount grocers, such as Wal-Mart and Aldi’s, has made the already difficult grocery business even more challenging for traditional neighborhood grocers, so they have to find niches to set themselves apart, said Craig Rosenblum, a partner at Barrington, Ill.-based Willard Bishop, a food retailing research firm. Hometown grocers are getting squeezed out of the unsustainable middle-ground area between deep discounters and upscale, full-service grocery stores, Rosenblum said. Dentici spoke to the Tribune-Review about what Kuhn’s and its eight stores are doing to stay relevant. Trib: The grocery store industry is a challenging one. How is Kuhn’s competing? Dentici: We compete against (discount) national chains because we offer services and products that they cannot: prepared food, custom-cut meats, outstanding delis, fresher produce. We can undersell almost anyone. Also, we have full lines of national brands, which some of the discounters can’t offer. Our type of store is unique to the Pittsburgh market because of its size and the fact that we’re totally independent. We’re doing well. Sales at stores open at least one year have increased 5 percent to 6 percent annually over the past few years. Trib: How does Kuhn’s size help it? Dentici: We’re a family-owned business. My four children work at the company, which is run by two of them: Frank Dentici, vice president of operations, and Jodi Zema, vice president of finance. Because of our size, we can respond to changing needs quickly, and buy right. A lot of times, we do spot buying on products, especially on produce and meat. My son Frank is working on a line of Western Pennsylvania beef, from cattle that is all grass-fed and born and raised in Western Pennsylvania. Large chains can’t do that because there isn’t enough of the beef available, but with eight stores, Kuhn’s can do that. Trib: Kuhn’s ninth store will open in the former Early American Candle Factory store in the Allison Park Shopping Center in Hampton on Dec. 2. Why did you decide to open a new store and in that area? Dentici: Our ideal store size is 30,000 square feet to 50,000 square feet but this store will be 24,000 square feet. But the area has good population density and the intersection of Ferguson Road and Mt. Royal Boulevard is good. That market has changed over the past several years since several grocery stores have closed, including a Foodland on Mt. Royal Boulevard in Shaler and a Shopper’s Choice on Duncan Avenue in McCandless. We look to open stores close to a neighborhood because our philosophy is that people want to shop for groceries maybe three times a week in order to keep things fresh in the house, so the store should be close. Trib: What are some of the new concepts that Kuhn’s had introduced or plans to introduce? Dentici: We’re leaning more toward what we call Grab and Go, which is a pre-cooked, refrigerated meal that can be microwaved at home. We started rolling that out at all of our stores two years ago, and it will be at the new Hampton store, too. About four months ago at the Moon store, we started offering online grocery ordering for customers. When customers arrive, their groceries are bagged and ready for them. It’s going pretty well, and we expect to roll that out at other stores eventually. We’re working on a major remodel of the store in Wilkins. About two months ago, we put a café in the Ross store. People can drink beer with their meals in the café or buy up to two six-packs to go. It’s doing great. Trib: You’ve been in the grocery industry since 1967. What is the biggest change you’ve seen? Dentici: We can now bring in products from anywhere in the world. And the transportation is so much better today than it was in the 1960s. Back in the day, food was shipped by railcar, which might take two weeks from California. That limited the amount and quality of the produce that could be brought in. Now, produce that is out of season locally can be delivered by refrigerated truck in two days from Florida and in five days from California — from the field to our stores. That has increased the selection and quality of fresh foods. Tory N. Parrish is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 412-380-5662 or tparrish@tribweb.com. Email Newsletters TribLIVE's Daily and Weekly email newsletters deliver the news you want and information you need, right to your inbox.