There are a LOT of rumors swirling about The Fresh Market in Windermere Village right now. Is Fresh Market still coming to Windermere? Did Fresh Market pull out of Horizon West? We’re going to break down the timeline of events and determine the status of Fresh Market.
Timeline of Fresh Market News:
- 4/7/2016: Developers plan CVS, The Fresh Market as anchor tenants of plaza
- 3/6/2017: Construction to start on high-end $20M Windermere shopping plaza
- 3/13/2017: Fresh Market to anchor Windermere Village
- 9/28/2017: Agave Azul inks deal for new restaurant near Windermere
- 1/23/2018: The Fresh Market Halts New Openings
- 2/12/2018: Fresh Market Halts 2018 Expansions
At the beginning of 2018, The Fresh Market announced it would delay or cancel new store openings in 2018. The organization is currently experiencing a change in leadership, as private equity firm Apollo Global Management purchased the company in 2016 and received a new CEO in 2017. While many residents in Horizon West took this news as the store was not going to open, that’s not necessarily true. The key points in their statement are delay, and the time frame, 2018. This indicates that The Fresh Market corporate office just wants things to start running smoothly again before opening new stores, which could start again in 2019. Writer John Brasier at BizJournels.com did research to support this as well. Using data from subscription service Planned Grocery, he only discovered one store that was fully cancelled, which was located in Cape Coral, FL.
While we can’t say with 100% certainty at this time, all signs point that Fresh Market will open in Windermere Village. Construction on the shell building continues, but does not align to a store opening in 2018. With construction appearing to go into 2019, this will allow The Fresh Market to stabilize and prepare for a new round of store openings. The leasing information for the plaza, which was last updated in May 2018, also still clearly represent that The Fresh Market is anchoring the plaza. Had the store pulled out from opening, it would be difficult for the developer to continue marketing the plaza to potential tenants by
Photo Credit: Miosotis Jade
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