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Tesla to install Superchargers at "all" Fred Meyers store locations?

3s-a-charm

Active Member
Jul 18, 2014
1,916
821
Calgary, Canada
They certainly will NOT be putting SC's at all Fred Meyer locations. If they put some at two locations, it was because of convenience as there was probably no other alternative.
They have learned their lesson and will NOT be putting them in supermarket locations, as a general rule.
They might but HPWC at the stores but not SC's!
Source?
 
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ohmman

Plaid-ish Moderator
Feb 13, 2014
9,895
17,891
North Bay, CA
Preface: I'm not complaining, nor will I ever, about more Superchargers. However, is a grocery store a good choice for road trip recharging stops? My cynical side tells me that these locations will be prone to ICEing and opportunity charging events. On the bright side, I'll enjoy getting fresh groceries instead of what I consider to be disgusting road food options.
 
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Sarcarean

Member
Sep 4, 2015
56
75
Bend, OR
When the first tax credits and gov incentives came to OR to install EV chargers, (AV Network) installed a lot of the Level 3 chargers at Fred Meyer locations in rural areas (Redmond, Coos Bay, The Dalles, Scapoose, Tilamook, Brookings). So I can assume corporate was heavily involved early on. I don't know about "every" location, but I would assume at a lot more locations.

And @ohmman the locations that have put superchargers that I have been to (Bend, Sandy), they are located at the back or rear areas, they are not prone to ICE. Also they make great locations, not the best, but far from the worst.
 
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bxr140

Active Member
Nov 18, 2014
2,623
3,283
Bay Area
...is a grocery store a good choice for road trip recharging stops?

Not that I'm a PNW native, but it's a bit more than that. It's more like a super target or upscale super Walmart. And at least in bend and sandy, there's the requisite ancillary businesses around the mega store and thus, at least a few eateries within walking distance.
 
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larmor

Active Member
Oct 27, 2014
2,171
5,457
Westlake, TX
Preface: I'm not complaining, nor will I ever, about more Superchargers. However, is a grocery store a good choice for road trip recharging stops? My cynical side tells me that these locations will be prone to ICEing and opportunity charging events. On the bright side, I'll enjoy getting fresh groceries instead of what I consider to be disgusting road food options.
Not sure this is for travelers. If they are at grocery stores, this would be a great fit as store visits are about 20-30 min. The longer the customer is in the store the more profitable that visit is for the store. Given the right equation and modeling likely there is an ideal amount of time and amount of customers that can basically pay for the SC site.
 

dgpcolorado

high altitude member
Apr 25, 2015
2,476
3,281
The Western Slope, Colorado
Preface: I'm not complaining, nor will I ever, about more Superchargers. However, is a grocery store a good choice for road trip recharging stops? My cynical side tells me that these locations will be prone to ICEing and opportunity charging events. On the bright side, I'll enjoy getting fresh groceries instead of what I consider to be disgusting road food options.
I realize that it is a minority view here, but my favorite Supercharger Station amenity, besides a restroom, is a grocery store since I don't bother with restaurants when traveling. Although Fred Meyer is much more than just a grocery store IME.
 
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Gwgan

Almost a wagon
Aug 11, 2013
2,837
2,089
Maine
Hannaford grocery stores have put CHADEMO chargers at some of their Maine stores and I've written to encourage more. I think the charge time is too long for just coffee, too short for dinner, and just right for a bit of shopping. With long range batteries becoming standard this is not so much for locals but to capture travelers.
 

Rocky_H

Well-Known Member
Feb 19, 2015
5,848
6,684
Boise, ID
Preface: I'm not complaining, nor will I ever, about more Superchargers. However, is a grocery store a good choice for road trip recharging stops? My cynical side tells me that these locations will be prone to ICEing and opportunity charging events. On the bright side, I'll enjoy getting fresh groceries instead of what I consider to be disgusting road food options.
I think it's more about parking lot size than anything. The parking lots for some of these really big all-in-one grocery stores in small towns are gigantic and usually not much more than half full. It's the place that actually has the room to allow a row of 8 or 10 parking spots for a Supercharger without inconveniencing most of the shoppers.
 

MorrisonHiker

S 100D 2021.4.12
Mar 8, 2015
9,203
8,338
Colorado
Preface: I'm not complaining, nor will I ever, about more Superchargers. However, is a grocery store a good choice for road trip recharging stops? My cynical side tells me that these locations will be prone to ICEing and opportunity charging events. On the bright side, I'll enjoy getting fresh groceries instead of what I consider to be disgusting road food options.
I've been to many Superchargers from California to Kansas and think grocery stores are a great location. Normally they have huge parking lots so ICEing shouldn't be a problem. Another thing to consider is that there could be dozens of grocery stores in each metro area. They wouldn't need to install 8 to 12 Superchargers at each location. If each store had a few chargers, travelers could easily stop at one without needing to detour too far off their regular route. I would expect the grocery stores to be open 24 hours a day so they would always be open to travelers. The grocery stores that I shop at usually have a deli or a restaurant or various hot and cold food bars which allow a variety of ready-to-eat food to be bought. You also have the rest of the store to choose from and I'm sure anyone could find something to snack on. This would be a great improvement over the Superchargers on I-70 in Kansas which are often located at hotels. Some don't have restaurants nearby and those that are nearby aren't necessarily open 24 hours a day. Many of them only have fast food.

Grocery stores often have loyalty programs which provide discounts on gas. By providing Superchargers to shoppers/travelers, they could provide a similar benefit to EV drivers.
 
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Mkorpal

Member
Mar 17, 2016
961
2,991
Denver
Fred Meyer (owned by Kroger) seems to be a second major grocery store chain doing a semi-partnership for siting Superchargers. The chain called Meijer (coincidentally pronounced the same) in the Ohio and Michigan area is the site for I think about 4 or 5 Superchargers. I don't know that it will get to "every" Fred Meyer location. That's probably just overexcitement talking. We have a couple of Fred Meyer stores here in Boise, but the Supercharger is elsewhere, at a hotel. Since it's an 8 stall one that is empty most of the time, I think we're still a decade away from needing expansion in this city.

3rd, actually. Hy-Vee has been a go-to location in the midwest for a bit now.
 
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ohmman

Plaid-ish Moderator
Feb 13, 2014
9,895
17,891
North Bay, CA
Yeah, my worry was more about local congestion and ICEing. But as some have mentioned, if the parking lots are huge, and the stalls are located appropriately far away, ICE shouldn't be a problem. And, of course, I'm forgetting new vehicles don't have unlimited Supercharging.

I will be through Bend in June with my Airstream and plan to stock up while I'm Supercharging at that location!
 

dgpcolorado

high altitude member
Apr 25, 2015
2,476
3,281
The Western Slope, Colorado
...I will be through Bend in June with my Airstream and plan to stock up while I'm Supercharging at that location!
I expect to hit Bend in August around the time of the eclipse. My sister lives an hour north of Bend (Crooked River Ranch) near the path of totality; thought I'd view the eclipse from Madras, if the weather cooperates.
 

ProphetM

Member
Jun 1, 2015
552
604
Las Vegas, NV
Preface: I'm not complaining, nor will I ever, about more Superchargers. However, is a grocery store a good choice for road trip recharging stops? My cynical side tells me that these locations will be prone to ICEing and opportunity charging events. On the bright side, I'll enjoy getting fresh groceries instead of what I consider to be disgusting road food options.

Fred Meyer is more of an all-inclusive location. They typically have a supermarket section, segmented areas like a Target, plus fully separated electronics and jewelry departments. The deli area usually has cafeteria-style selections of cold and hot food as well as drinks and seating. The parking lot often has a big gas station as well.

I do think the Fred Meyer manager in Klamath Falls might have been a little overly-optimistic, just because Fred Meyer locations are not necessarily spaced appropriately for superchargers. However I think for electric charging overall he may be right. I seem to recall that the Fred Meyer in Brookings, OR already had some EV charging when I was there last summer, while the Supercharger in Crescent City was being built at the time and is less than 30 miles away. There can also be multiple Fred Meyers even in cities of modest size such as Medford.
 

ItsNotAboutTheMoney

Well-Known Member
Jul 12, 2012
10,228
7,322
Maine
Hannaford grocery stores have put CHADEMO chargers at some of their Maine stores and I've written to encourage more. I think the charge time is too long for just coffee, too short for dinner, and just right for a bit of shopping. With long range batteries becoming standard this is not so much for locals but to capture travelers.

Although, having a bunch of chargers at large grocery stores would be a good way to help with charging problems at home.
 

Gwgan

Almost a wagon
Aug 11, 2013
2,837
2,089
Maine
Although, having a bunch of chargers at large grocery stores would be a good way to help with charging problems at home.
But unlike Tesla not-for-profit system I would expect other charging systems to cost more than home charging so unless locals did not have a home option I would hope they would not sit on the chargers.
 

hpartsch

Member
Aug 6, 2014
591
409
wa
Fred Meyer


I just messaged Fred Meyers and thanked them for their participating in the supercharger program and how I personally prioritize locations with EV charging. Above is the link for others to do so (if interested) ;).

upload_2017-3-6_14-24-4.png
 

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