The Fresh Market kicks up its Cowtown presence on Wednesday, June 17 when it opens its first Fort Worth stores in the WestBend shopping center just west of the Fort Worth Zoo at 1751 River Run. The specialty grocer will join a development already featuring Zoe’s Kitchen and East Hampton Sandwich Co. The Fresh Market Inc. (NASDAQ: TFM) new store will be the company’s eighth store in the state of Texas.
“We are excited to open our new store in Fort Worth and to expand our reach into Texas,” said Sean Crane, the company’s interim chief executive officer. “We look forward to introducing The Fresh Market’s concept of quality, great tasting food, excellent customer service and a distinctive atmosphere to an expanded customer base, and we look forward to offering neighboring communities an inspiring new food shopping experience.”
Doors will open at 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday and grand opening activities will include chef demonstrations, food sampling throughout the store, and drawings for store gift cards. The new store will house over 26,000 square feet of items, including a bakery that produces 30 freshly baked breads and 14 different pie varieties daily, a full service meat counter, ready-to-serve entrées, fresh seafood delivered to the store several times per week, and more than 200 imported and domestic cheeses, as well as a produce department with more than 400 items and a large organic selection. The new store will employ approximately 90 new jobs to the area.
In May, WestBend development officials announced the addition of a restaurant and bar, a fashion boutique and a spa, all new players to the city’s retail market. WestBend developer Trademark Property Co. said the new tenants include: neighborhood restaurant & bar HG Sply Co., fashion boutique Pax & Parker and Texas-based Woodhouse Day Spa. The Fresh Market is on the ground floor of a new 81,150 square foot building that will include speciality grocery store on the ground floor and 57,000 square feet of new Class A office space directly above. Upon completion, the project will include 278,000 sf of retail, dining and office space.
Fort Worth Business Press by Robert Francis