The Fresh Market marks anniversary at Uptown, Metairie stores

By Deja Dennis
Contributing Writer

The smell of New York strip steaks, fresh berries, roasted chicken salad, chocolate covered fruit, and herbal tea filtered through the aisles at the Uptown location of The Fresh Market from April 8 to 9 as the store treated shoppers for the chain’s 35th anniversary. The gourmet grocery chain, which has its headquarters in Greensboro, N.C., opened its location here in the city four years ago on St. Charles Avenue and a second in Metairie on Veterans Memorial Boulevard that opened in 2015. The chain’s 178 store locations nationwide marked the occasion by thanking regulars to their store with samples of their popular staple items.

“We’re very excited to have this 35th anniversary and share our products with the community,” said Eric Tremblay, the assistant store manager at the Uptown Fresh Market. He said the store wanted to host the sampling event to encourage residents to try new things and buy products they normally wouldn’t consider. He believed that it was a great way to celebrate 35 years of the Fresh Market serving high quality food. Fresh Market employee Barret Burguieres said he had a steady stream of shoppers sample a gourmet snack blend as he worked to showcase the store’s unique products. “The customers have been open and receptive to the samples and they really like it,” Burguieres said as he walked around the store passing out samples to customers during the weekend event.

“It’s good for the company,” he said of the anniversary activities.

Like Burguieres, Troy Hobb, a meat and seafood manager, said the employees were excited about the number of customers eager to sample their food.

“We had a nice crowd today, a bigger crowd than yesterday, so everything is going well,” Hobbs said. It was his job to grill the New York strip steaks that the shoppers seemed to enjoy.

The event worked to bring the store closer to its regular customers, employees said, and to let the community know of the variety of healthy and gourmet food options local consumers can access in their neighborhoods.

This article originally published in the April 17, 2017 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.