Earth Fare

Earth Fare was an American health and wellness supermarket with 50 locations in 10 states throughout the Southeast and Midwest United States.[1][2] It sells natural and organic food that the company claimed to have the highest product standards in the United States (free of various artificial additives, high-fructose corn syrup, hormones and antibiotics),[3][4] and was one of the largest natural and organic food retailers in the country.[5] After closing all stores in February 2020, the first three of a planned nine stores, including one brand new location, began opening in June 2020.[6]

Earth Fare
Corporation
IndustryNatural Foods
FateChapter 11 bankruptcy
Liquidation sale
SuccessorReopening June 22, 2020
Founded1975
DefunctFebruary 25, 2020
HeadquartersAsheville, North Carolina
Key people
Rodger Derrough, Randy Talley, Oak Hill Capital Partners
ProductsSpecialty, Local, Organic & Natural Foods
Number of employees
2,500+
Websitewww.earthfare.com/ 

History
Earth Fare in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Founded by Roger Derrough in 1975,[7] the first store opened its doors in Asheville, North Carolina as “Dinner for the Earth”.[8] Initially, Dinner for the Earth offered only organic dried bulk foods in wood barrels and wellness products on handmade shelves. With new partner Randy Talley, the store rebranded as Earth Fare in a new larger location in 1994, transitioning from a specialty store to a full-service store with expanded offerings of products, like craft beer and artisanal cheeses. Two years later, the store expanded to a second location in Charleston, South Carolina, and thereafter continued its expansion to "mid-sized metros, with the savvy and wealth to support a healthy supermarket and no competition in the niche."[9]

Oak Hill Capital bought the chain in 2012. The company maintains a list of 140 ingredients that its products do not contain, and customers may receive $50 gift cards if they spot one of said ingredients in one of the chain's products.[10]

On February 3, 2020, Earth Fare announced that it was going out of business and liquidating all of its stores.[11] The company cited "continued challenges in the retail industry" as a reason it could not refinance its outstanding debt, further adding that it was "not in a financial position to continue to operate on a go forward basis."[12] One day later, the company announced that it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware. It listed liabilities of $100 million to $500 million and assets of $100 million to $500 million.[13] All locations closed by February 25, 2020.

Products

All products the store carried were free of high fructose corn syrup, artificial fats, artificial trans fats, artificial colors, artificial flavors, artificial preservatives, artificial sweeteners, bleached or bromated flour, never administered antibiotics or added growth hormones. The company claims to have the highest standard in its organic produce in North America.[14][15]

While it sold food from around the world, the company also operated the policy of "100 mile Commitment" to sell as much local produce as possible from within a 100 mile radius of the store.[16][17]

Store locations

Earth Fare had 50 stores locations across 10 states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.[18]

Expansion and decline

Earth Fare expanded into Virginia in November 2017 with three locations in Roanoke, Fairfax, and Williamsburg. In 2019, Earth Fare had planned fifty additional stores by 2024.[19]

In 2018, Earth Fare closed two locations in Atlanta, Georgia and one location in Columbus, Ohio.[20] Earth Fare's Gainesville, Florida location closed on January 11, 2020.[21]

Reopening

Just four months after shuttering the entire chain, an investment from Hulsing Enterprises of Asheville, North Carolina and its CEO Dennis Hulsing helped the original Earth Fare founders Randy Talley and Mike Cianciarulo, to revive the brand and begin to reopen certain locations. First to reopen was the Westgate Earth Fare in Asheville on June 22. The second and third locations to reopen are in Roanoke, Virginia and Boone, North Carolina with five other locations earmarked to resume operations in Athens, Georgia, Summerville, South Carolina, and Rock Hill, South Carolina. Most of the other former Earth Fare locations in the Southeastern U.S. were sold to other retailers during the bankruptcy proceedings earlier in 2020.[22]

The chain also announced its first completely new location—as opposed to a reopening of a shuttered location—will open in early 2021 in Christiansburg, Virginia.[23]

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References
  1. "Earth Fare, Inc". Earth Fare. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
  2. "Eight Earth Fare stores to reopen under new ownership". Supermarket News. July 1, 2020. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  3. "Our Food Philosophy". Food Fare.
  4. Marks, John (June 11, 2018). "Earth Fare aimed to bring 'longer, healthier, happier lives' to Fort Mill. And soon". The Herald.
  5. "Earth Fare Opens First South Florida Location". Business Wire. June 11, 2018.
  6. "Earth Fare is back in business". Grocery Dive. July 7, 2020. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  7. Boyle, John. "As Earth Fare grows, some workers feeling 'squeezed'". Citizen Times.
  8. R. Duane Ireland, Robert E. Hoskisson, Michael A. Hitt (2012-08-01). Understanding Business Strategy Concepts Plus. p. 21. ISBN 9781285224992.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  9. Abidon, Emily (June 7, 1998). "Vegging out; Trendy Earth Fare relaxes the concept of 'grocery store'". The Post and Courier. p. 1.
  10. Kelley, Pam (2017-08-03). "Earth Fare is in the crosshairs of the grocery wars". Business North Carolina.
  11. Manskar, Noah (2020-02-03). "Earth Fare grocery chain may close all stores". New York Post. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
  12. "Asheville-based Earth Fare to close all stores, company says". WYFF News 4. Asheville, North Carolina: Hearst Television. February 3, 2020. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
  13. Muccigrosso, Catherine (February 4, 2020). "Earth Fare files for bankruptcy a day after saying all its grocery stores are closing". The Charlotte Observer. The McClatchy Company. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  14. "Earth Fare, Inc". Earth Fare. Archived from the original on April 23, 2016. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
  15. Clark, Anthony. "New Earth Fare joins stores offering organic foods". Gainesville.com.
  16. Angela Knipple, Paul Knipple (2013-03-29). Farm Fresh Tennessee: The Go-To Guide to Great Farmers' Markets, Farm Stands, Farms, U-Picks, Kids' Activities, Lodging, Dining, Wineries, Breweries, Distilleries, ... and More. The University of North Carolina Press. p. 171. ISBN 9781469607757.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  17. Timothy Woods, Margarita Velandia, Rodney Holcomb, Rebecca Dunning and Eric Bendfeldt (2013). "Local Food Systems Markets and Supply Chains". Choices. 28 (4): 1–4. JSTOR choices.28.4.04.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  18. "Eight Earth Fare stores to reopen under new ownership". Supermarket News. July 1, 2020. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  19. Manning, Lauren (January 15, 2019). "Earth Fare Plans to Double Store Count Over the Next 5 Years". Grocery Dive. Industry Dive. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  20. "Earth Fare shutters 2 Atlanta-area stores, 1 in Ohio". The Citizen-Times. March 26, 2018. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  21. Mavrakis, Emily (December 30, 2019). "Gainesville's Earth Fare supermarket to close Jan. 11". The Gainesville Sun. Gannett Co., Inc. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  22. "Eight Earth Fare stores to reopen under new ownership". Supermarket News. July 1, 2020. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  23. "Earth Fare is back in business". Grocery Dive. July 7, 2020. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
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