Specialty fresh food retailer opens 162^nd store

The Fresh Market, Inc. today opened its newest store in Lakewood Ranch, FL, marking the first store for the specialty food retailer in the city and its 48^th in Florida. With a convenient location at 11525 SR 70 E, the new 24,034 square-foot store aims to delight the community with a curated shopping journey.

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The Fresh Market opened its 162nd store in Lakewood Ranch, FL, on April 24, 2024. (Photo: The Fresh Market)

A gorgeous new store

The new store in Lakewood Ranch will offer full-service produce, deli, meat, seafood, bakery, and floral departments with the highest quality ingredients that The Fresh Market guests have come to know and love – in addition to a variety of specialty products, including wine and cheese.

It will also feature the following:

• Center store restaurant-quality offerings, including:
  • In-house smoked pit BBQ featuring fresh brisket, ribs and pork. The Fresh Market smokes its brisket overnight for a minimum of 12 hours over locally sourced wood.
  • Hot and Fresh Pizza.
  • Large variety of scooping salads, olive bar and soup station.
• Full and self-service coffee stations offering a variety of drink options.
• Coffee café bar adjacent to the full- and self-service station, featuring iced and hot coffees, lattes, mochas, and hot tea from Republic of Tea in addition to The Fresh Market roasted beans available for purchase.
• Fresh breakfast and pastry options in the coffee area along with fresh smoothies.
• Wide variety of bakery dessert options located within our brand-new bakery walk-around case.
• An expanded craft beer selection that includes local offerings.
• Inside and covered outside seating areas for guests to enjoy coffee, meals and meet ups with friends.

“Our new store in Lakewood Ranch offers more than just fresh food; it's a place to grab a coffee with friends, enjoy a slice of Hot & Fresh pizza, or try a new smoothie,” said Jason Potter, CEO. “With a full-service coffee station and a variety of ready-to-eat options, The Fresh Market is a go-to for quick bites, dinner solutions and everyday occasions. We're thrilled to be part of this community and bring the best of The Fresh Market to Lakewood Ranch, Florida.”

Embracing the community

To celebrate the grand opening, the first 500 guests received a customized Lakewood Ranch shopping bag. In addition, a “bread breaking” ceremony, vendor sampling, specialty presentations, giveaways, live music performed by award-winning international concert cellist Steve Kramer, and a check presentation to Feeding Tampa Bay were held to officially welcome Lakewood Ranch guests to The Fresh Market.

Nearly 1 million people in West Central Florida face food insecurity, with 1 in 6 adults and 1 in 4 children lacking consistent access to nutritious meals. To commemorate its growing partnership with Feeding Tampa Bay, a vital organization working to alleviate hunger in the region, The Fresh Market presented a check for $2,000. This contribution underscores The Fresh Market's commitment to supporting the communities it serves through local Feeding America® food bank partners. The Lakewood Ranch location will be the ninth Fresh Market store to provide ongoing weekly food donations to Feeding Tampa Bay, bolstering the Food Bank's efforts to feed those facing hunger in collaboration with its network of over 400 partners across the area.

Rewarding Loyalty

Guests can sign up and start saving with The Fresh Market’s The Ultimate Loyalty Experience that’s free to join and takes seconds! Members of the program can take advantage of automatically loaded and curated member-only loyalty offers, digital coupons and “The Club Hub” purchase frequency programs, which allow guests to earn free items or dollars off favorite items (for example, cheese and coffee clubs), and a free slice of The Ultimate Birthday Cake during the Member’s birthday month.

The new store is open seven days a week, with operating hours from 7am to 9pm. Guests can also shop online and enjoy curbside pickup or home delivery through The Fresh Market's website or mobile app.* The store will be offering special deals and promotions throughout the coming weeks in celebration of the grand opening.

*Apple and the Apple Logo are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google LLC.

About The Fresh Market, Inc.

Voted as the “Best Grocery Store in America” by USA Today’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards in 2023, 2022 and 2021, “America’s Best Customer Service 2021” by Newsweek and Statista and a top 5 most trusted grocery retail brand for specialty and natural/organic foods in the 2022 BrandSpark Most Trusted Awards, The Fresh Market helps guests discover the best with time-saving meal solutions, unique ingredients, and delicious food for any occasion. From fresh produce and exceptional meat and seafood to signature baked goods and thousands of organic options, the specialty grocer has something to please every palate. The Fresh Market currently operates 161 stores in 22 states across the U.S., inspiring guests to discover new flavors and cook with confidence. For more information, please visit www.thefreshmarket.com or follow the company on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest.

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