Earth Fare, a North Carolina-based, health-oriented grocery store, is expected to open for business at Emory Point by early 2015, according to a May 21 press release from the shopping center's developer, Cousins Properties Inc. and Gables Residential.
The grocery chain, which currently operates 30 stores in nine states, exclusively sells products free of trans fats, artificial colors and sweeteners, high fructose corn syrup and synthetic hormones found in animal products, according to the Earth Fare website.
To reinforce this rule, the company website contains an eight-page "boot list" displaying banned chemicals, additives and other ingredients. If a customer finds any of these ingredients in any of Earth Fare's products and presents the product to store management, the store pledges a $50 gift card and immediate removal of the product.
The store also supports local farmers and businesses with its "100-mile commitment" labels, which advertise products within that radius, while its "family producer" labels bring attention to artisan and family-operated small businesses, according to the site.
Earth Fare will compete with nearby organic grocery store Rainbow Natural Foods on North Decatur Road and preservative - free grocer Your Dekalb Farmers Market on Ponce De Leon Avenue.
Cousins Properties and Gables Residential signed Earth Fare to establish its newest store in a 24,782 square-foot space along Clifton Road, within what Cousins refers to as "phase two" of its Emory Point construction, which began development in 2013, according to the press release. About 18,000 square feet of retail space remains for new additions to the shopping center's second phase.
President and Chief Executive Officer of Cousins Properties Larry Gellerstedt said in the press release that the development company was excited for Earth Fare's "anchoring the second phase of Emory Point," as "the addition of an organic grocer provides the surrounding neighborhoods, as well as our Emory Point community, a unique and sought-after offering."
-By Lydia O'Neal
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