A South Jersey grocer had a great view when President Barack Obama delivered his State of the Union Address on Wednesday.

Jeffrey Brown, the owner of 10 ShopRite stores, was among an elite group invited to share a box in the Capitol with first lady Michelle Obama.

Brown was singled out for his effort in bringing supermarkets to low-income areas.

The invitation from the Obamas was "quite an honor," Brown said in a statement. "My wife, Sandy, and I have always been committed to helping the communities we serve. To be recognized in this way is something I never expected.

Brown, a Cherry Hill father of four, shared the First Lady's seating area with about 20 guests, including students, elected officials and military personnel. The group included two federal police officers -- Kimberly Munley and Mark Todd, both of Killeen, Texas -- who ended a shooting spree, allegedly by an Army psychiatrist, that killed 13 military personnel and wounded dozens more at Fort Hood in November.

Brown, the founder and president of Brown's Super Stores Inc., has opened four markets in "food deserts" in and around Philadelphia, ShopRite said. The stores opened under Pennsylvania's Fresh Food Initiative.

"The local communities benefit not only from the availability of fresh meat, fish and produce at fair prices, but also from the creation of new jobs," it said.

ShopRite employees, who said they weren't able to see the speech in the stores, expressed excitement nonetheless.

"It's awesome," said Jaime Amato, an assistant manager at Brown's flagship store in Brooklawn.

"It's great," said Vaughn Pearson, an assistant manager at a Brown ShopRite in West Philadelphia. "A lot of people were offered these (urban) sites and they didn't want them. It's a tribute to him that he took this on."