Somerville welcomes first new grocery store in eight years with Fresh Value opening
By Linda Gordon
linda.gordon@hartselleenquirer.com
After an eight-year wait, Somerville residents are welcoming a new grocery store to town. The grand opening of Fresh Value Grocery Dec. 5 marks a significant milestone for the community, bringing fresh produce, local products and convenience to a town that has long been without a full-service market.
The company’s Chief Operating Officer, Terry Stanley, commented “It’s been really good. The community of Somerville has really come out. They’ve shown us a lot of love since we started working on the project. Obviously, they came out early this morning, lots of folks waiting in line for the free bags of groceries. We’ll be doing that again, giving out bags of free groceries to the first 100 customers on our first three days of operation,” he said. “Overall it’s been a really good experience I think especially for us, being new to the community. I’m excited. It’s going to be great for Somerville and great for us.
Somerville residents seem to agree. “This is exciting. We haven’t been this excited since we had the Piggly Wiggly. I’m tickled to death, because it’s close to home. Now we have a doctor’s office, restaurants, pharmacy, and so why not a grocery store?” Ruthy Chapman said.
Renee Haynes, another local shopper, chimed in. “We’re very excited. We don’t have to travel far away. It’s just right here.”
Shoppers purchase groceries at the new Fresh Value in Somerville on its opening day Dec. 5. Photo by Linda Gordon.
Stanley shared that he noticed the vacant grocery store building by chance while driving through Somerville on Highway 67. He learned that the store had been vacant for about eight years.
“It is very rare for a retailer to be able to come into a small community where there is no grocery store and provide that,” Stanley said. “Today’s opening has required cooperation and working together by the mayor and town council, the property owners and our corporate leadership. There have been so many people involved in making this possible. The community has been overwhelmingly receptive to everything we’ve done. It’s our job now to put a great product in front of them. We’ll do everything we can to keep prices down. That’s what we always try to do.”
“Somerville has been without a grocery store for nearly ten years,” Somerville mayor Darren Tucker said, “Our area is located in what is called a food desert and the council has worked hard to see Fresh Value locate where the former grocery store was located.”
“Recently they had a hiring event which resulted in over 250 applications, so Fresh Value was very pleased to see that amount of people apply. They will hire approximately 50 employees. This will be great for our younger Brewer students that are looking for something part time while in school. The council is pleased to know that our elderly and lower income families won’t have to travel so far to get groceries, produce and fresh cut meats.”
What’s different about Fresh Value? How will they be successful in a location where other stores have had to close?
Fresh Value operates on a different model than most retailers, Stanley said. “When you go to a conventional retailer, you see their retail prices. You have no idea what they paid for the product. You have no idea how much they are marking it up.”
“As a cost-plus operator Fresh Value shows you our cost. When you get to the register, we’re going to add 10% to our cost and that is the price the customer will pay. That 10% pays for our personnel, our rent, our utilities. Every retailer marks it up, but at Fresh Value, our markup won’t exceed 10%. In order to stay in business, we have to keep our costs below 10%.”
“Our boneless ribeye steaks are cut fresh in the store and we have them priced at $5.99 per pound plus the 10% markup, which means the customer pays just $6.56 per pound. I checked around this week, and the cheapest price I found for ribeye steaks in any grocery store in the area was $7.99 per pound. That, plus the fact that all our pork and beef is cut fresh daily, right here in the store, is a big plus for customers.”
Fresh produce is also delivered daily and items such as fruit, squash and zuchinni, are cut each morning by produce personnel in the store.
“A lot of grocery stores bring in packages of fruit already cut, so there’s no telling what kind of preservatives they use to keep it looking fresh,” a worker in the produce department explained. “We cut it fresh and wrap it right here in the store.”
“If a person is comparing prices with the large retailers, the difference in pricing may not be so obvious for pre-packaged items, but in fresh meat, fruits, and vegetables especially, I believe people will see a difference that they will appreciate.” Stanley added.
Sharon Rozier was smiling as she loaded bags of groceries into her car in the newly surfaced and striped parking lot. “It’s really nice. We don’t have to drive a long way now to shop. They’ve got a nice selection in there, and it’s just a beautiful store. We love it.”
The new Fresh Value grocery store is located at 5276 Hwy 67 S. in Somerville.
The business is open every day except Christmas Day, from 7:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m.
