This was going to be a nice, in-depth post about the brand new Fresh Market that opened today at Jefferson Village on New Garden Street. The store completed its move from Quaker Village and had its grand opening this morning. I was looking forward to taking loads of great, colorful pictures to show off how awesome this new location was and expounding on the wonderful customer service that the Fresh Market is known for.
Two things conspired against this. The first was a manager who seemed more interested in speaking with Fresh Market big-wigs and employees than customers, told me she’d “prefer that I not take pictures”. This was only after I told her it was for my local blog. Had I been an employee or a member of the press, then I could have snapped away I suppose.
The second was that after wandering for a good 45 minutes, I simply wasn’t that impressed. Sure the store is brand new, and has much more space, has better parking and looks wonderful, but there was nothing new. My wife and I were really looking forward to the market expanding their meat offerings to include venison and bison, having new fresh salad recipes, and some new exotic produce. None of this materialized however, which was disappointing to say the least. For selection, Whole Foods in Winston Salem seems to have the Fresh Market beat. Its distance, price, and tiny isles work against them however and we’ll most likely stick with our FM.
Taken as a whole, The Fresh Market really is a wonderful place to shop. It might be a bit more pricey, but the quality is well worth it. Plus, it is staffed by some of the nicest people in Greensboro (with the exception of the afore mentioned manager). The sushi lady and elderly bagging gentleman (wish I knew their names!) bring a smile to our faces each and every time we walk in. We’ll be back, I just wish I could have shown you the place. I suppose you’ll just have to go visit it for yourself, which I guess is the point.
Mrs. T.D. Gaines-Crockett
June 28th, 2007 at 12:53 pm
I refuse to shop there as it is a literal haven for Liberals and artsy homosexuals.
jw
June 28th, 2007 at 1:16 pm
“I refuse to shop there as it is a literal haven for Liberals and artsy homosexuals.”
’spose you don’t go to the downtown farmer’s market then either.
Thanks, Ged, for the heads up. I’m going to head over there now.
jw
June 28th, 2007 at 3:57 pm
Store’s okay. Getting there is hell. The roads to it are messed up and the parking lot is awful.
Mrs. T.D. Gaines-Crockett
June 28th, 2007 at 6:52 pm
“spose you don’t go to the downtown farmer’s market then either”
Surely, you jest. Farmers markets are swarming with Birkenstock-wearing, patchouli- soaked hippies and annoying panhandlers.
I send the housekeeper.
Bucifal
June 29th, 2007 at 6:50 am
8-| so you start complaining about something and then you realise you like it?? why did you complain in the first place
Ged
June 29th, 2007 at 8:23 am
Bucifal, just because I couldn’t take pictures inside the store for its grand opening, doesn’t mean I’m not gonna shop there. I was disappointed at the manager’s position to be sure, but I understand it. I have to refuse almost daily requests of people asking to use our icons on their commercial and non-commercial websites, so I can hardly complain.
Nothing suffered except my ability to create a nice, pretty blog post, read into that what you may.
Mrs. T.D. Gaines-Crockett
June 29th, 2007 at 9:45 am
Dear Ged,
For what it’s worth, I thought your blog post was lovely.
Jiffy
June 29th, 2007 at 2:02 pm
Oh, I miss the Fresh Market from when I lived in G’boro years ago! I’m a big fan of Whole Foods as well as Trader Joes, another great organic-minded market. Happily, our local grocery store has a good organic section. We also love our Farmer’s Market.
Stefany
June 30th, 2007 at 9:30 am
I would like to comment to the narrow minded pin head who said that only liberal artsy homosexuals shop at the FM.
I resent that, I am not liberal, nor “artsy”, nor am I homosexual. All people regardless of their race, creed or sexual orientation are all just people and you are an ignorant person for being so daft that you can’t shop in a place where you are too afraid because you are homophobe!
As for the blog, a great entry and I will be shopping at the fresh market since being a Unitarian Universalist makes me unafraid of homosexuals and artsy people.
Good Day To You!
Ged
June 30th, 2007 at 10:32 am
Stefany, when I first read the comment posted by Mrs. T.D. Gaines-Crockett, like you I was pretty much shocked, appalled and disgusted. I was trying to figure out ways to respond to such a bigoted line of feedback. I brought the post to the attention of my friend Anthony and he, thankfully did some digging.
It seems as though Mrs. T.D.’s “persona” is really just a extremely subtle attempt at humor. How do we know this? From the comments over at her blog, we see “she” used to be an active member of the Landover Baptist Church. According to Wikipedia, this “church” is in fact no such thing, but a satirical site designed to parody the extreme nature of the religious Christian right.
Now, parody or not, I do take offense at the things that were said, and of course I whole-heartedly disagree with them. Knowing that it is someone’s attempt to demonstrate the outlandish nature of intolerance and bigotry however, is crucial, and I’m not sure this comes across at all. Thanks go out to Anthony for helping me uncover this information, I hope this makes you feel better.
Stix
December 14th, 2007 at 2:59 am
Do yourself a favor and bypass Fresh Market. The employment policies are antiquated and oppressive and the word “union” get a hire fired. Turnover is extremely high simply because no one can live on a $9 wage. Little is fresh and the back of house is one gigantic freezer. That savory looking pie you purchased is made by Sara Lee and enters the store frozen as do the breads, rolls, bagels and muffins. Check the date on that dairy product because stock rotation is haphazard, if at all. Sanitation is a joke and the place consistently fails standard health inspections. Management is top heavy and consigned to sadists who must have missed their opportunity to work as overseers in the plantation fields. Organization and standard food practices are ignored. The store is in chaos most days, because department managers don’t stay long enough to establish protocols for efficiency. The waste is phenomenal, yet catch no employee sampling wares, lest he/she be fired for theft. Check to see how many fair trade items exist in the aisles – zip. This is a self absorbed organization dependent exclusively on appearances, not substance and endless music loops of Vivaldi and Handel.
warren
May 13th, 2009 at 7:44 pm
Do yourself a favor and do not shop at any Fresh Market. The company and all the stores is nothing more than an illusion. The meat is the same beef that can be purchased at most supermarkets, the bakery does not prepare anything from scratch except sugar cookies, all the pies and sweets come in frozen from Sara Lee, the deli is far from fresh and like the bakery,everything is frozen and sourced from vendors then displayed as made from scratch. Everything in the seafood dept is also sourced out and nothing is prepared in house. As for the management, they rule with nothing but threats of firing, broken promises, and a closed door policy. No one earns more than 10 dollars an hour and every employee is made to feel miserable at all times. The whole company is nothing more than a smoke and mirrows operation. How you may ask that i know all this to be true? I work at the Fresh Market in Lake Norman N.C.
Jay
October 19th, 2009 at 11:31 am
Stix and Warren are right. It used to be a nice family owned and operated chain. Now it is one big company that actually has made more money since the recession has started by cutting jobs, hours, and raises.