Instead of cutting a ribbon to signify the grand opening of its first Butler County Fresh Market, the company celebrated by cracking a wheel of parmesan Wednesday morning.
The celebration didn’t end with a crack of the cheese, as the new West Chester location, 7720 Voice of America Centre Drive, also featured chef demonstrations, food sampling throughout the store and had drawings for Fresh Market gift cards.
Customers, who haven’t experienced other Fresh Market stores like the other two in Cincinnati (Oakley and by the Kenwood Mall), were able to explore a different option on where to get their groceries.
“The perfect customer for us is anybody who loves great food,” said Drewry Sackett, manager of PR and community relations for The Fresh Market. “It seems like it is a perfect fit for West Chester where people didn’t have quite as many options for an upscale food shopping experience and we are excited to provide that.”
Not only will the store provide customers with a unique shopping experience, Sackett also said that the company plans on being an active member in the community by partnering with local food banks and by being involved with local schools.
“When I first learned of Fresh Market’s investment in West Chester, I knew there was something that linked our town with this corporate enterprise – our respective commitment to quality, variety, pleasant and unique shopping experience, community and civic engagement, and well-trained professionals committed to the highest level of customer service and delivery of services,” said West Chester Township Trustee Catherine Stoker, who attended Wednesday’s grand opening.
Services that The Fresh Market provide include a bakery that produces 30 freshly baked breads and 14 different pie varieties daily, a full-service meat counter with freshly ground beef, a wide selection of ready-to-serve entrees, a deli that serves up hot sandwiches made to order, fresh seafood that is flown in several times a week, made-to-order sushi, more than 200 imported and domestic cheeses and a produce department with more than 400 items.
Furthermore, the produce department features regional (grown within 300 miles) and local (within 100 miles) products. Depending on the season, the produce is between 40-to-80 percent organic.
“It is lovely here,” West Chester store manager Jermarcus Parker said. “The aromas, the way the bread smells in the morning, the cookies, the coffee sampling – it’s all there.
“You don’t really have the time to relax anymore, like you could at the old markets. That is why we have the European-style feel where you can just enjoy your time. We get customers, who are in here for hours, just enjoying the aromas, the colors and everything.”
Adding to the time customers may spend in the store will be the extra food sampling that will be featured at the new location through this Saturday.
The West Chester Fresh Market, which is open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays, is the company’s sixth store in the state of Ohio and its third in Greater Cincinnati. The new store, which provided approximately 90 local jobs, will have some competition with a Kroger located directly across the street and a Target with a fresh grocery in the same shopping center.
