Glass jars full of candy makes up one row of The Fresh Market's bulk section.

Glass jars full of candy make up one row of The Fresh Market’s bulk section.

The anchor of the new Arboretum Village shopping center at Gaston-Garland-East Grand opened today. Rather than cutting a ribbon, The Fresh Market cracked a large wheel of Parmesan this morning to make it official.

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Its opening marks the kajillionth grocery store in Dallas. Hyperbole, yes, but The Fresh Market is aware that it is entering a market full of competitors, with even more watching and waiting. Still, the company believes it will flourish in Dallas, and plans to open roughly a dozen stores here.

So what distinguishes it from the growing pack? When we asked a spokeswoman to whittle it down to three aspects, here’s what she told us:

  1. Employees that can give recipe tips just as well as they slice cheese or shave meat. The company prides itself on hiring people to not just stock shelves and man food counters but also engage with customers — answering questions, making suggestions and learning people’s names.
  2. Beef ground fresh every day, and sold only that day. Any ground beef that doesn’t sell is given to restaurants or donated to food banks.
  3. An ample produce selection. The newest Fresh Market in Dallas is 15,000 square feet, which is smaller than its 24,000-square-foot prototype. This means that every department is a little more compact, and this was most notable in the bulk section. The fresh fruits and veggies, however, make up about one-fourth of the Dallas store, and the selection did seem to rival other larger stores in the neighborhood.

 

Read our longer preview of The Fresh Market and view more photos below. The store at 7331 Gaston is open 8 a.m.-9 p.m. daily.

The store's "Local 100" and "Local 300" program identify products grown or made within 100- or 300-miles, such as Dallas Cita's Salsa.

The store’s “Local 100” and “Local 300” program identify products grown or made within 100- or 300-miles, such as Dallas Cita’s Salsa.

Signage allows customers to easily find products that are vegan, gluten-free or fair-trade, for example.

Signage allows customers to easily find products that are vegan, gluten-free or fair-trade, for example.

Bulk foods are such an integral park of The Fresh Market that they sell 99-cent eco-friendly bulk bags for customers to wash and reuse.

Bulk foods are such an integral park of The Fresh Market that they sell 99-cent eco-friendly bulk bags for customers to wash and reuse.