I agree. When I got back into riding, I got a Fuji Absolute from Performance, and was very happy with both the bike and the service I got from the local (Pasadena) shop. It took me a while to feel the need to get a 'better' bike. If I were buying a road bike in your price range now, I'd buy a gently used bike off Craigslist, but that takes more expertise than I had at the time.

The Fuji looks like a solid bike, and the wider rims/tires will be good for dirt/gravel/commuting, but if you want to go fast in group rides then at some point you might get another set of rims and 25-28 mm tires. Those rims and tires shouldn't keep you from doing the group rides you're looking to do, so this isn't at all urgent. And as mentioned you'll spend that $200 store credit quickly as you get more into riding.

One thing to note is that we're now at the time of year when a lot of 2016 bikes start going on sale. Try to get a feel for the possibility of one of the bikes you want getting a 10-20% discount in the coming weeks. Also, test ride those bikes as much as it takes to figure out which feels best to you. That, and a really good fitting, are by far the most important things to get right.