Are you ready for The Fresh Market, which opens in the Arboretum Village at 8 a.m. Dec. 3? That’s in the new shopping center going up at the hot, hot intersection of Gaston and Garland Road near the White Rock Lake spillway. Opening day, be prepared for chef demos, samples and drawings for gift cards. The first 1,000 customers walk away with a sample bag of coffee and a reusable shopping bag.
The press release claims “unparalleled product selection and expert customer service,” noting the North Carolina-based chain employs “a team of friendly, well-trained professionals… Employees often can be found offering cooking advice or sharing their favorite tips with customers.”
It includes an onsite bakery, full-service meat counter, seafood, domestic and imported cheeses, “more than 400 items” in the produce department and “a large organic section.” At 24,000 square feet, the store’s about half the size of the Whole Foods Market just up the road.
I’m excited to know that Dallas looks so attractive to outfits like this. It’s difficult for people to realize that back in the day, in the 1980s, jicama and cilantro were exotic ingredients, and the famous Southwestern cuisine chefs like Dean Fearing and Stephan Pyles had to special-order items like fresh herbs for their restaurants. Organics? Forget about it.
But here’s my question: What’s going to draw customers already accustomed to shopping at the neighborhood Whole Foods? Or Trader Joe’s not too far away on Lower Greenville? Or Central Market a little farther north on Greenville? Or will this be more like a fancy mainstream grocery store (which IS sorely missing from the neighborhood)?
Don’t get me wrong: I plan to check it out, and if it speaks to me, I’ll add it to my personal orbit of stores and farmers markets. I also assume the parent company did its homework. But I secretly wonder how many more boutique/upscale grocer stores our fair city can support. At least they didn’t locate it on Preston Road in North Dallas.