Payless SuperFresh & Truckload Store now open

Triple J Enterprises celebrated the grand opening of its new business Saipan Payless SuperFresh & Truckload Store last Friday in Chalan Kanoa.

The store combines a grocery store that carries a strong organic produce section, meat and poultry, cheeses, a butchery and a deli along with the company’s wholesale business that sells products from K-Mart.

The fusion of the two Triple J businesses in one location aims to give customers a one-stop shopping experience and thus having the opportunity to stand out and get a step up on the competition by giving the community more choices.

The grand opening was attended by Triple J management and employees, government and elected officials, business people, and local residents who were all looking forward to the business’ normal operations.

Triple J Enterprises, Inc. CEO and chair Robert H. Jones saw the need to open Payless SuperFresh.

“In 2010, Triple J Enterprises opened Super Fresh Market but it happened during the downtimes of the economy and we pulled back for a while. We concentrated on wholesale items from K-Mart and sold them in the Truckload Store,” he said.

“But now, we see a much stronger need by the community for a store like this and now we are back in the retail business…we thank the government and its agencies, construction crew, vendors, and Triple J employees that helped Triple J put together a great collaboration… we are looking forward to giving great service and great prices here,” he said.

Before the grand opening, Payless SuperFresh & Truckload Store had a soft opening starting Tuesday to give the community an idea of what is about to come. Morgan Carrico, general manager for Payless SuperFresh, said that they’ve had great response from the community.

“We are bringing something exciting and new to the area and the huge turn out from the soft opening that happened Tuesday to Thursday tells us that the response form the customers have been 100% positive especially with the produce and meat departments as they have been doing great,” he said.

“As for pricing, we are going to be competitive as much as we can. I would rather sell 100 for a lower price than sell 10 at a higher price… we also take pride with our organic and vegan options and options are good for the people on island,” he added.

Aside from a wide array of food items from the mainland and different parts of the world, Payless SuperFresh is also offering locally made products including Saipan’s very own Saipan Snap ginger cookies by local resident Jill Arenovski.

Carrico said that they are open to add locally made products on the shelves. “I would like to encourage residents to be part of the supermarket. They can come here and look for me so we can talk about the local products that they have. We would like to help them promote and make their products known.”

The opening of Payless SuperFresh & Truckload Store is yet another feather on the cap of Jones who is considered one of the pillars of businesses on island today.

“This is Triple J’s new baby and we are very pleased with the outcome of hard work,” he said. “We are very happy with all the commissaries, the great comments about the store’s appearance, shopping experience and prices, and we look forward to continue serving the people of Saipan and the rest of the CNMI.”

Triple J Saipan vice president for finance and administration Michael S. Sablan said that the journey to open the store took almost a year.

“We had hiccups with [Super Typhoon Yutu] and finding labor but Mr. Jones saw an opportunity to introduce new ideas in a supermarket and grocery shopping…we are introducing new concepts, we have good operators on island and we are a new player,” he said.

“Aside from the many service and product options we offer, we are proud to be the first on Saipan to bring motorized grocery carts for the elderly and people with special needs. We want every single individual in the community to have a wonderful shopping experience here,” he added.

Truckload Store general manager Jay Santos paid homage to the business’ matriarch, the late Margaret Jones, who passed away in June.

“On November 5th, she would have celebrated her 80th birthday and that is why we thought opening the store would only be fitting to honor her… Mrs. Jones played a key role in Triple J’s success over the years… and her legacy lives on,” he said.

In his speech, Lt. Gov. Arnold I. Palacios said that this new establishment is a big contribution especially in the Chalan Kanoa area.

“When Mr. Robert Jones decided to reinvigorate Chalan Kanoa, I believe a lot of us were very hopeful and fully behind his efforts. We see his other business Surf Rider Hotel also soon to open and the community is very happy to see Chalan Kanoa come back to life and also serves as an inspiration to reinvigorate other businesses in our community.”

Alex Sablan, TanHoldings vice president of Corporate Business Development, said that Payless SuperFresh is a new alternative on island. “I like the variety here as it offers healthy options and it will keep the competition in play.”

Payless SuperFresh & Truckload Store is located beside KFC and Taco Bell in Chalan Kanoa. They are open daily from 8am to 9pm and for more information, call (670) 322-0430.