Grower News

After purchasing Fieldstone Market & Deli in December 2017 and spending two years overhauling the business, owners Dave and Jen Sears are unveiling a major rebranding of the store today and ambitious expansion plans for the future. The Ticker has an exclusive first look at the project, plus other retail and restaurant news. Fieldstone/Fresh Coast Market Fieldstone Market & Deli customers visiting the Long Lake Road business today will be greeted by signage announcing a new store name: Fresh Coast Market. The rebrand is the culmination of over $300,000 in improvements over the last two years completed by new owners Dave and Jen Sears . Dave says the Sears are only half-way through their plan to transform the store from its former roots as a party store into an upscale gourmet market featuring over 110 Michigan brands and “one-stop” essentials for west-side Traverse City residents. Despite dramatic changes to the store’s interior and inventory in recent months – including the addition of a coffee shop and oatmeal bar, a deli expansion emphasizing fresh ingredients, allergen-free options, and a kids menu, new product lines, and display/fixture upgrades – many locals still didn’t realize Fieldstone was under new ownership. “We kept hearing over and over again that people had no idea what was going on here,” Dave Sears says. “We completely transformed the business…and it became clear there was a need for a new name and brand to reflect that.” Former staff member Kelby VanBrocklin helped create the store’s new logo and branding materials, which play off Michigan’s reputation as the Fresh Coast state. Fresh Coast Market will emphasize Michigan brands in its product lines, including Fustini’s, M-22, 9 Bean Rows, Cherry Republic, Friske Farms, Third Coast Bakery, and Higher Grounds, among others. The Sears have also worked to showcase local start-up entrepreneurs: Flower grower Tenille Enger started out selling a handful of fresh-cut bouquets at the store and generated so much customer demand she received grant funding to build a hoop house to expand her Lucky Clover Flowers. The Sears have doubled the store’s size staff – to approximately two […]

Source: www.traverseticker.com