ASHEVILLE, NC - If you’re looking for a gift for Earth Fare, you better get something gold, because the natural grocer just hit the 50-store mark. On Wednesday, January 30, the grocer will celebrate its 50th store in Steele Creek, the seventh store in the Charlotte market, with a ribbon cutting event and shopper promotions. This landmark puts Earth Fare in the running with top grocers like Publix and Harris Teeter.
“There’s certainly room for us to provide healthier alternatives compared to what our competitors do,” said Frank Scorpiniti, CEO.
Shoppers are in for a treat at the opening, as gift cards up to $500 in value will be given to the first 200 customers. Even the latecomers can join in on the fun, since there will be a bounty of free samples and product demonstrations planned, reported the Charlotte Business Journal.
The 24,000 square-foot store is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to expansion. The grocer has plans to double its store count within five years, with four new stores opening in Florida within the next two and a half months, and additional stores in the works in Charlotte.
“The business is now well capitalized and funded with a much more powerful brand,” commented Scorpiniti.
The company started in Asheville in 1975, and is built around the ideas that health food should be available to everyone at great value and convenience.
“You don’t have to pay more to eat healthy,” Scorpiniti stated.
The company has expanded its assortment of products, improving offerings around the store’s perimeter and focusing on price points. The company’s products are all without high-fructose corn syrup, artificial and trans fats, colors, sweeteners, and preservatives, as well as containing no bleached or bromated flour in products like pasta, bread, and crackers.
“You can literally come into an Earth Fare and shop blindfolded and leave with a cart of healthy food,” said Laurie Aker, Earth Fare Spokesperson.
The new Steele Creek store contains new features and a focus on price, taking advantage of consumer’s growing need for value, convenience, and quality. Grab-and-go meals will be plentiful, as will Paleo and ready-to prepare options. Hot food and salad bars, pizza, sushi, and sandwiches are also available at the location.
Other features include a deli with numerous prepared options, like salad and sides, as well as whole roasted chickens at $5—watch your back, Costco! Shoppers will also be exposed to sustainable and traceable seafood, Springer Mountain farms chicken, and grass-fed beef. The bakery boasts even more unique qualities, with all the bread kneaded and stretched by hand, and many other bakery products made in-house. The bounty doesn’t stop there, however, as the store will feature specialty foods including an olive and antipasti bar, and hundreds of cheese options with wine pairings.
Price is a key component of the brand, and each week the store will offer a week’s worth of clean dinners for just $2.50 per person, with products easy to locate in the store, and a menu laid out. Even more enticing is the store’s 10 for $10 appetizers including Creole shrimp and crab-stuffed mushrooms, Chilean sea bass spring rolls, and bacon-wrapped scallops.
“Just because you have a certain budget in mind does not mean you can’t eat healthy,” said Aker.
It’s not hard to get excited over a store opening like this, and AndNowUKnow will keep you posted on new openings like this one.
