Fresh Thyme Farmers Markets plans 60 stores in five years

Chicago -- Fresh Thyme Farmers Markets, a new specialty grocer format featuring value-priced healthy and organic offerings, announced Wednesday that it plans to open over 60 stores and create approximately 5,000 new jobs throughout the Midwest over the next five years. The company's first store will open in Mt. Prospect, Ill., this spring, followed by eight more grand openings, spread out between Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, throughout the remainder of this year. The retailer will enter Michigan, Missouri, Wisconsin and Minnesota in 2015.



"Fresh Thyme Farmers Markets will be a completely new grocery format for the Midwest," stated Chris Sherrell, president and CEO, Fresh Thyme Farmers Markets, and formerly CEO of Sunflower Farmers Market. "We've taken the experience of an outdoor farmers market and combined it with the convenience of a full-service grocery store. Shoppers will enjoy value priced natural and organic items throughout our store, making healthy food more attainable to the masses."



The heart of Fresh Thyme Farmers Markets' 28,000-sq.-ft. stores will be produce, including locally sourced and organic fruits and vegetables. Additional features will include some 400 bins of natural and organic bulk items and small batch locally roasted premium coffee beans, a butcher shop featuring all-natural handmade sausage made daily in store, offering over a dozen varieties, and a Hops & Grapes department with an expansive selection of wine and local craft beers. Stores will carry more than 7,000 varieties of vitamins, supplements and natural body care products



For a complete list of the company’s store rollout, go to http://www.freshthyme.com/our-stores