By Julie Roberts
Local residents are flocking to the area’s newest upscale grocery store, The Fresh Market. Only four days after its Oct. 23 Grand Opening, the parking lot was packed.
It’s easy to see why. Every moment of the shopping experience is designed to be sensory-pleasing, from the down-home chalkboard sign outside advertising the daily specials to the smell of cinnamon and pumpkin bread in the entryway.
The Fresh Market General Manager, Laurie Campbell, 59, said the variety offered makes shopping at the store a special experience. The store provides organic, conventional and unusual items.
When asked to elaborate on unusual, she said, “We offer a seasonal item called Buddha Hands. Some countries use it for decorative purposes. We also have star fruit and Brussels sprouts on a stalk. All types of unusual things like that.”
Campbell is also very proud of her staff.
“I took an active role in hiring all 92 people for this store. We chose engaging people, who make customers want to come back,” she said. Retail clerks cheerfully ask customers if they can help them find something and will personally escort them to the item to make sure they find it. Don’t know what to do with artichokes? Ask a staff member in produce to suggest a recipe.
The Fresh Market, 9774 East 116th St., is the fifth store to open in Indiana, and the 146th in the nation. While it’s a large chain, Campbell draws attention to its warmth.
“We encourage sampling,” she said, which “educates the guest,” and is part of what makes shopping there special.
The Fresh Market is also civic-minded. Locally, they have already begun partnering with Third Phase and donating food to Fishers United Methodist Church Food Pantry.
Bob Goodrich, 62, a longtime Fresh Market customer who now works at the Fishers store part time, summed up the store’s approach best: “old world and new world come together,” he said. By blending an old-fashioned personal touch with artfully presented food, just try walking out of there empty-handed. For more information visit www.thefreshmarket.com.
