Pleasant Hill Residents Turn Out in a Big Way for Fareway Grand Opening It was tough to find a parking spot in the packed parking lot at the new Fareway store in Pleasant Hill this morning as residents of Pleasant Hill and surrounding communities eagerly waited for the doors of the new store to open for the first time. At 10 a.m. after a brief ribbon-cutting ceremony, customers stepped inside and were greeted by Store Manager Matt Weber and Market Manager Mike Barbour. “We are excited to be open,” says Weber who has moved to the area from Newton, where he was an assistant manager for Fareway. “I’m looking forward to serving this community and providing a great experience for shoppers.” Barbour agrees, “Delivering outstanding customer service is what we’re known for, that and our full-service meat department.” The 30,000-square-foot facility employs more than 100 full- and part-time employees and boasts a fresh bakery, health market and an expanded frozen foods section. “The stores we are building today are bigger, and many have bakeries,” says Fareway Vice President of Sales and Marketing Jeff Stearns. “You have to try the monster cookies and scotcharoos. These are popular items with our customers.” According to Stearns, the plan eventually is to have the stores with bakeries supply fresh baked goods to those Fareway stores without bakeries. Customer Ruth Lage of Altoona says, “I shop at the Fareway in Altoona, but I had to come see the new store. It’s bigger and it has a bakery. That’s nice.” Grocery store suppliers like Marty Fay of Kraft, Jeff Wrage of Dr Pepper Snapple and Speed Herrig of Cookies BBQ handed out free samples. Many suppliers like Sheila Baker of Sparboe Farms had pitched in ahead of time to help with the store setup. There’s a lot that goes into opening a new store, according to Fareway Executive Vice President Reynolds Cramer. “Demolition of existing buildings at the site began last winter and construction began in the spring,” says Cramer. “We were happy to get the store enclosed before the cold weather started, and seeing opening day come is always exciting. This store has a much larger freezer and dairy section than stores in past years because we’ve found that’s what our customers want.” Barb Lowe made the trip to the new store with her daughter and granddaughter. Lowe lives on Des Moines’ eastside, but had been driving to the Fareway in Altoona to shop because, “I’ve always liked Fareway’s fresh meat,” she says, adding, “I’ve been waiting for this store to open ever since the sign went up,” she says. “It will be much closer for me.” Granddaughter, Trudy, however liked the kiddie carts and the free cookies best. Many area dignitaries were present at the ribbon cutting beforehand. Pleasant Hill Mayor Mike Richardson, City Manager Don Sander, City Attorney Ed Skinner as well as Chamber President Adam Langholdt were among those in attendance, helping to get the store off to a great start.
Posted on: Thu, 16 Jan 2014 03:12:09 +0000