Grocery shoppers now have two more options in Pasco County, as GreenWise Market and Aldi have opened new stores.
The 25,147-square-foot GreenWise Market, at the Preserve Marketplace Shopping Center, 2175 Sembler Drive, is GreenWise Market’s fourth location in Florida. The Preserve Marketplace is off State Road 54, in Odessa.
“Our GreenWise Market is about exploration, community, enticing the palate, and a place for the foodie, as well the food connoisseur. We celebrate food, and have an extended offering of natural, organic and prepared foods,” said Maria Brous, director of communications for Publix, via email.
The store offers specialty, natural and organic foods. Its personal care offerings include vitamins, nutritional supplements, natural soaps and shampoos, and more. Its meats have been raised with no antibiotics or added hormones, and it offers sustainably-sourced seafood.
Shoppers also can pick up made-to-order meals and grab-and-go foods, such as handcrafted gourmet sandwiches and freshly baked pizza.
They also can select from a curated collection of wines and imported cheeses.
Another feature: Shoppers can enjoy a cup of locally roasted coffee, wine and beer on tap, or other selections, which they can drink while shopping, or when relaxing at the bar.
The Odessa store expects to have about 130 employees, Brous said.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Brous said, “our stores continue to be busy.
“We ask our customers to shop as they normally would, but not to stockpile, so that their friends, family and neighbors have the same opportunity. The grocery industry is resilient, and we just needed to be patient and allow the industry an opportunity to recover.
“We are seeing better conditions in most categories; however, paper and cleaning products have been slower to rebound. For this very reason, customers may see limits in place. In addition, limits will vary by store depending on high demand for certain items,” she said.
GreenWise Market is owned and operated by Publix Super Markets Inc., a privately owned company. Publix is one of the 10 largest-volume supermarket chains in the country.
Aldi also opened a new store in Pasco market, at 2215 Sun Vista Drive in Lutz, near a broad array of shops, restaurants and stores at Cypress Creek Town Center.
Matt Thon, the Haines City Aldi division vice president, said the grocer considered a variety of factors when choosing a store location.
“We want the best sites that are closest to our shoppers and can support a high daily traffic volume,” Thon said, via email.
“As the demand for Aldi grows, so do our real estate options. Bottom line, we want to be conveniently located for our shoppers,” Thon added.
He noted that Aldi’s “priority focus is saving people money on the food and products they want most.”
He said the store achieves that by “offering shoppers a curated selection of Aldi-exclusive brands.
“More than 90% of our store consists of Aldi-exclusive products,” he said.
He also noted that “when it comes to value, Aldi won’t be beat on price. For the past decade, Aldi has held the esteemed title of Value Leader among U.S. grocery stores by Market Force Information.”
Thon also said that each of Aldi’s stores, including the one in Lutz, employs 15 to 20 people.
During COVID-19, Aldi has been focusing its efforts on ensuring essential food and household goods are available, Thon said.
The new location is part of Aldi’s national expansion, according to a company news release. The grocery chain has nearly 2,000 stores across 36 states and aspires to become the third-largest U.S. grocery retailer, by store count, by the end of 2022, the release says.
Aldi offers its own line of gluten-free products, antibiotic-free meats and organic products, including bananas, tomatoes, avocados, apples and salad mixes, and organic milk, almond butter and salsa, among other things, the company reports.
Aldi also has integrated several new safety features in all its stores across the country, to ensure the health and safety of customers and employees.
GreenWise Market
GreenWise Market features foods for the health-conscious, as well as gourmet foodies, including specialty, natural and organic foods. GreenWise Market is owned and operated by Publix Super Markets Inc.
Where: 2175 Sembler Drive, Odessa
When: Hours are 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., daily
Info: GreenWiseMarket.com
Aldi
Aldi offers its own line of gluten-free products, antibiotic-free meats and organic selections. It prides itself on its affordability, and is aiming to become the nation’s third-largest grocer, by store count, by 2022.
Where: 2215 Sun Vista Drive in Lutz
When: Hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Info: Aldi.us
Published July 29, 2020
