Here’s when and where Earth Fare will open its latest store in the Charlotte area

Specialty grocer Earth Fare will open its sixth store in the Charlotte area next month. It’s the final store — for now — that the retailer is looking to open in the region.

The 18,000-square-foot Davidson store will open at 8 a.m. June 9 at 261 Griffith St., in the former Healthy Home Market site, which closed four years ago.

The store layout will be different than other locations because of the up-fit, company spokeswoman Laurie Aker said.

It’s about 5,000 square feet smaller than other Earth Fare locations but will include over 200 certified organic produce items and feature a hot bar, pizza station and pre-made salads to go, Aker said. There also will be a cafe with indoor and outdoor seating.

She said Earth Fare chose Davidson because it is a community that focuses on health and wellness and family.

Competition is heated and growing for grocery market share in Charlotte, with newcomers like Farmstead online-only grocer to Publix, Aldi and Lidl expansion plans.

Earth Fare’s return

Earth Fare has opened five other Charlotte-area locations since August.

The Asheville-based company began reopening area stores after Hulsing Enterprises purchased the brand in spring last year. Earth Fare filed for bankruptcy in February 2020, closing its 55 stores in 10 states.

At that time, there were seven Charlotte-area stores. Other stores that have reopened are in Ballantyne, SouthPark, Concord, Fort Mill and Rock Hill. Two locations not reopening are at 14126 Steele Creek Road in Steele Creek and 14021 Boren St. in Huntersville.

“Earth Fare made every effort to get its previous locations back. However, these two locations were purchased by other organizations,” Aker said. “We will be expanding just not in the Charlotte market right now.”

Earth Fare, which specializes in organic foods, has opened 21 locations on the East Coast in eight states, with more openings planned in Florida, Virginia and Ohio.

While other local Earth Fare stores reopened quietly during the coronavirus pandemic, Aker said the Davidson opening will be a bigger event.

“We’re definitely hoping to have a larger opening than our previous stores,” she said.

Other grocery stores opening

Walmart remains No. 1 in market share in the Charlotte region, followed by Harris Teeter and then Food Lion, according to sales tracking firm Chain Store Guide’s latest report.

Several other grocers have laid plans to expand in Charlotte, too:

▪ Publix has plans to open at least five Charlotte locations. The Florida-based grocer this month signed a lease at Arboretum, at the southeast corner of Providence and Pineville-Matthews Roads.

Other stores planned are at North Creek Village at Sam Furr and Davidson Concord roads in Huntersville, 10 Tryon building on the northwest corner of Tryon and Ninth streets in uptown, at the corner of Sharon and Colony roads in South Park and a rezoning petition has been filed for a location at 11525 Carmel Commons.

▪ Food Lion, based in Salisbury, last month opened a store at 1620 Ashley Road in Charlotte. The company also acquired 62 Bi-Lo and Harveys Supermarkets in the Carolinas and Georgia last year and has begun reopening stores, including in York and Chester, S.C.

▪ Matthews-based Harris Teeter plans to open a store on Fort Mill Parkway in Fort Mill, S.C. The company reopened its 34,000-square-foot Park Road Shopping Center store in Charlotte in January after a year of renovations.

▪ Discount German grocer Lidl opened a store last month at 11225 S. Tryon St. in Steele Creek and is planning to open at least three more this year on South Boulevard, Carmel Commons and Mallard Creek Church Road. The latter is expected to open this summer.

▪ Aldi, another German low-cost grocer, recently opened stores in Cornelius, Rock Hill and Indian Land, S.C.

▪ Online-only grocer Farmstead last month expanded its free delivery service to North Carolina homes within an hour’s drive of its West Charlotte distribution hub. Charlotte was the Silicon Valley grocer’s first expansion out of the San Francisco area.

This story was originally published May 25, 2021 at 2:52 PM.