• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

West Hartford Wild Oats Natural Marketplace Remodels and Expands Specialty Departments

Posted on: Monday, 7 November 2005, 09:00 CST

WEST HARTFORD, Conn., Nov. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Wild Oats Markets, Inc. , a leading national natural, organic and gourmet foods retailer, today announced the grand re-opening of its newly remodeled Wild Oats store in West Hartford on Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2005, at 7 a.m. The 25,000 square-foot store is located at 340 N. Main St. The West Hartford Wild Oats Natural Marketplace will feature the highest quality natural and organic food, dietary supplements, household and body care products, including a full- service meat and seafood counter, sit-down sushi bar and fresh bakery and deli departments.

The official grand opening celebration begins at 7 a.m. on Nov. 16. The opening day festivities will include storewide samples and a giveaway of free Wild Oats shopping bags filled with grocery products for the first 200 customers through the door. In anticipation of this exciting day, Wild Oats is hosting a holiday preview party on Tuesday, Nov. 15 from 6 to 9 p.m. The party, which is free and open to the public, will be held at the store and will feature samples of holiday hors d'oeuvres, artisan cheeses and live local entertainment. In addition, Executive Chef Chris Torla of Trumbull Kitchen in Hartford will kick off the Wild Oats Holiday Chef Series by demonstrating some of his favorite holiday recipes during this event.

"We're remodeling and expanding some important services and departments in our store to give our customers the best shopping experience possible," said Dave Bernier, store director of the West Hartford Wild Oats Market. "For more than five years, Wild Oats has been part of the fabric of the West Hartford community. We support local community events and our store is a true gathering place for the people of West Hartford. We are thankful for our loyal shoppers and we know they will love the changes and updates we've made to our store."

Since opening in 1999, the West Hartford Wild Oats has given people in the community access to a large selection of quality, natural and organic foods. The West Hartford Wild Oats store has also donated more than $200,000 in cash, food and volunteer hours to support community events, to feed the hungry and to help out local nonprofits.

The newly remodeled store will offer customers a state-of-the-art, interactive shopping experience that is the latest in natural, organic and gourmet food retailing. Based on extensive customer research, the Wild Oats Natural Marketplace will offer an exciting layout and design that is fun, friendly and educational. The store will be alive with the sights and smells of chefs actively preparing recipes in the Wild Café and abundant storewide samples of the highest quality natural and organic food and household products available. Regular store hours are 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday.

Wild Oats is a one-stop shop for natural, organic and gourmet products, meeting customers' day-to-day grocery needs. The West Hartford Wild Oats grocery aisles are filled with more than 7,000 products and 2,000 brands of all-natural, organic and epicurean grocery, dairy and frozen food items. The remodeled store features a new grocery section, complete with an authentic international foods aisle and an expanded frozen foods section.

With more than 3,000 square feet of devoted space, the store's produce department will offer more than 175 different fresh organic produce items. Additionally, the store will feature a vast selection of the highest quality fresh fruits and vegetables grown by local and regional farmers. With a large offering of organic fruits and vegetables in the store, customers will also discover exotic and hard-to-find produce items, including more than 15 varieties of tropical fruits, 13 different types of lettuce and 14 kinds of fresh tomatoes, from Roma to vine-ripened.

Staffed by trained butchers, the store's fresh meat and seafood department will feature fresh fish delivered daily and 100 different varieties of fresh meat and poultry products, raised without the use of antibiotics, growth hormones or feed containing animal by-products. Customers can dine in or take out fully prepared, healthy meals from a large selection of sandwiches, soups, entrees, side dishes and smoothies prepared fresh daily or made to order in the Wild Cafe. Customers will also be able to enjoy freshly prepared sushi at the store's new sit-down sushi bar and fresh salads at the new salad bar. Cheeses from around the world, and fresh marinated and stuffed olives complete the expanded cheese department and new Mediterranean bar.

With an expanded bulk foods section filled with hearty energizing grains, colorful pastas, flavorful coffee, fresh nuts, exotic and everyday flours, baking essentials, snacks, mixes and candy, customers can buy as little or as much as they want. And, the store's remodeled floral department offers the freshest flowers and plants from local greenhouses and growers around the region.

In addition to a bounty of wonderful food, the store will features a state-of-the-art Holistic Health Center. With information and quality products at the forefront of this department, Wild Oats offers customers an educational and interactive way to shop for quality nutritional vitamins and supplements, and luxurious natural and organic body care products.

The Holistic Health Center is a destination in and of itself -- a "store within a store" where customers will find a full line of the highest quality products and a wealth of detailed information about health and wellness. With information kiosks, health brochures and educational programs, the Wild Oats Holistic Health Center will serve as a resource to meet customers' natural health needs.

As part of the Company's mission to promote health and well-being among customers, employees, local communities and the environment, Wild Oats hosts an ongoing schedule of store events that offer customers information and education about living a healthy lifestyle. Wild Oats also gives back to the West Hartford community through charitable donations, donate-at-the-register programs and other giving programs. Additionally, to encourage recycling and reusing grocery bags, customers who bring their own bags to the store receive either a 5-cent refund or a Wooden Nickel for each bag, which is then donated to one of three local nonprofit groups.

About Wild Oats

Wild Oats Markets, Inc. is a nationwide chain of natural and organic foods markets in the U.S. and Canada. With annual sales of more than $1 billion, the Company operates 113 natural foods stores in 24 states and British Columbia, Canada. The Company's markets include: Wild Oats Natural Marketplace, Henry's Farmers Market, Sun Harvest and Capers Community Markets. For more information, please visit the Company's website at http://www.wildoats.com/.

Wild Oats Markets, Inc.

CONTACT: Eva Wong of Edelman Worldwide, +1-415-222-9944, for Wild OatsMarkets, Inc.; or Sonja Tuitele of Wild Oats Markets, Inc., +1-720-562-4984

Web site: http://www.wildoats.com/

Source: PRNewswire-FirstCall

More News in this Category