Food And Flavor Abound At The Fresh Market’s Winchester Grand Opening on August 31

The Fresh Market invites the community to join in the celebration as the specialty grocer opens its first location in Winchester on Wednesday, August 31. The new 23,000 square foot store will be located at 1671 South Pleasant Valley Rd. and will be the grocer’s 16^th store in the state of Virginia and 177^th store nationwide. The Fresh Market is pleased to bring approximately 86 new jobs to the Winchester area.

The Fresh Market’s grand opening activities will begin Wednesday, August 31 at 8:00 a.m. and run through Sunday, September 4 with chef demonstrations, in-store sampling, kids’ activities, special deals and giveaways. Additional weekend event activities will take place the weekends of September 9-11 and September 16-18.

Starting at 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday, August 31, guests can enjoy:

• Ribbon cutting with an appearance by the John Handley High School marching band and cheerleaders
• FREE reusable shopping bags filled with more than $50 worth of The Fresh Market goodies for the first 100 guests
• FREE reusable shopping bags to the first 2,000 guests
• Chef demonstrations featuring crab cakes and parmesan crusted tilapia
• Grilling demonstrations featuring The Fresh Market’s gourmet beef burgers and a variety of sausages
• Food sampling throughout the store, including Counter Culture Coffee, Stonewall Kitchen, The Republic of Tea, George DeLallo Olives and Dietz and Watson
• “Cracking of the Parmesan,” featuring a 75 pound wheel of Parmigiano Reggiano, which is known worldwide as the “King of Italian Cheeses”

At The Fresh Market, Winchester guests will discover quality, great-tasting food and an inviting atmosphere, including:

• A bountiful produce department with over 400 items, including local honey, apples, green beans, blueberries, tomatoes, peppers and squash varieties from Virginia farms such as Kirby Farms, Dodd’s Acres, Whistle Creek, Sunnyside Farms and Cedar Point Farms
• Locally sourced beer and wine from neighboring communities, including Starr Hill Brewing, Devils Backbone Brewing, Winchester Cider Works and Lost Rhino Brewing
• A full service meat and seafood department with butchers on site every day and beef ground fresh daily from whole roasts and steaks
• A European-style deli with 200 varieties of imported and domestic cheeses, as well as a wide variety of ready-to-serve items and convenient meal solutions from fresh sushi made daily to  Southern favorites such as fried chicken, which is made fresh in store each day using The Fresh Market’s own special recipe
• An in-store bakery with 30 kinds of freshly baked breads and rolls as well as 14 different pie varieties daily, including The Fresh Market’s celebrated apple pie, which features more than one pound of Ida Red Apples in each pie
• Over 800 certified gluten-free items and 1,500 certified non-GMO items

“The Fresh Market provides a unique grocery shopping experience featuring distinctive foods in an inviting atmosphere. Every item in our store has been carefully selected, and we stock our shelves with produce from local farmers, in addition to specialty items found from around the world,” said Todd Sanders, store manager. “We are always on the lookout for markets where the community shares our passion for great food, and Winchester is just such a place. We look forward to serving this community and helping our guests turn small moments, like sharing a meal around the table, into something special.”

The Fresh Market is also committed to the neighborhoods it calls home, and its employees enthusiastically support local organizations that are important to the stores’ communities and guests. The new store will proudly partner with Highland Food Pantry by providing regular donations of food. In addition, The Fresh Market is a national partner of No Kid Hungry® to help raise funds and awareness for the organization, which is dedicated to ending childhood hunger in America by surrounding children with healthy food where they live, learn and play.