Specialty grocer
BY KYLE ARNOLD World Staff Writer
Friday, June 22, 2012
The Fresh Market will try to establish an upscale grocery niche when it opens its south Tulsa location next week.
With busy employees stocking
shelves, preparing the newly
installed olive bar and cleaning
displays where hundreds of
exotic cheeses will be sold, the
company is preparing to bring a
new category of supermarket to
Tulsa — different from upscale
natural food store Whole Foods
and traditional grocers such as
Reasor’s.
“We’re really somewhere
between the other stores that
are in the market,” said manager
Doug Everett, who moved
from a Fresh Market store in
Louisiana to take over the new
Tulsa location. “We really want
to bring the highest quality
produce that we have. And we
have a lot of niche and specialty
products that you may have
seen before but that are hard to
find.
The Fresh Market is set
to open at 9 a.m. Wednesday
at 8015 S. Yale Ave., the
24,000-square-foot former
home of book and music seller
Borders.
The store will have 90 to 100
staffers, and all positions except
just a few are filled, Everett said.
The Greensboro, N.C.-based
company identifies itself as a
high-end grocer, playing classical
music and eschewing the
mass market offerings of many
supermarkets.
Everett said the store is probably
not somewhere that customers
will do 100 percent of
their grocery shopping but is
more of a place they would visit
to pick up produce, meat selections
and some speciality goods.
Nearly half the store is dedicated
to produce, and the bulk food section, along with the
deli, meat and seafoods counter,
push the non-perishable
foods into just a few aisles.
The store will also have a fullservice
bakery, boasting 14
varieties of fresh pies, as well
as a floral department.
Sure, the store has a limited
selection of Coca-Cola and
Lay’s potato chips, but those
items are on the periphery of
independent brands, international
foods and luxury offerings.
Among the store’s other
unique features are bulk flavored
coffees, a bulk candy
section and a third bulk section
of dried fruits, vegetables
and snack mixes.
Everett said the company
plans to bring in as much locally
sourced produce as possible,
buying from northeast
Oklahoma’s wide variety of
vegetable and fruit farms.
The store even has a counter
for fresh ground peanut,
almond and cashew butter.
There is also a space dedicated
to non-perishable
goods made in the state such
as honey and soaps.
The building has undergone
an extensive overhaul
since Borders closed in April
2011 as the struggling book
seller finally succumbed to
bankruptcy.
The Fresh Market spent
about $1.25 million on renovations,
adding hardwood
floors, chiller cases for meats,
cheeses and produce and seven
cash register stands standing
below wooden trellises.
Everett said The Fresh
Market has purchased several
former Borders locations
nationwide. The stores are
a good fit physically for the
supermarket chain and are
often located in more affluent
neighborhoods, he said.
The company has more
than 120 stores nationwide.
It opened a location Wednesday
in Wichita and will soon
enter Rogers, Ark. The Tulsa
location is the first for The
Fresh Market in Oklahoma.
The Fresh Market
8015 S. Yale Ave.
Opening: 9 a.m., Wednesday
Employees: 90-100
Highlights: Olive, salad and soup bar Bakery Meat and seafood counter Bulk coffee, candy and dried fruits and vegetables Floral department
Kyle Arnold 918-581-8380
kyle.arnold@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Stephen Kay tests a coffee bean dispenser Thursday at The Fresh Market, a premium grocery store opening Wednesday at 8015 S. Yale Ave. It
will be one of more than 100 locations for the grocery chain based out of Greensboro, N.C. KT KING/Tulsa World
The Fresh Market will feature a full deli, along with fresh meats
and seafoods. KT KING/Tulsa World
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