Content area
Full Text
Fresh Market, the latest Freson Bros. store, combines the best of old and new in an urban setting with a focus on fresh HMR offers
To some, a town of 14,000 people may not sound particularly urban. But for Alberta's Fresón Bros., the town of Stony Plain, 20 minutes west of Edmonton, isn't just urban, it's one of the biggest places this independent grocer has ever done business in. Just the right setting for Fresons new 24-hour, 43,000-square-foot flagship urban store.
If you are unfamiliar with Fresón Bros., know that the independent chain has specialized in the small-town Alberta market for more than half a century. Except perhaps for two locations in Grand Prairie, Freson's stores are mostly situated in far-flung locales across the province, in towns whose populations don't run more than four digits. The first Fresón store was opened in 1955 in the town of Hinton, nearly 300 kilometres west of Edmonton, by Frank Lovsin and two business partners. Today, Lovsin's three sons have taken over running the business and are in the process of updating the 15 Fresón stores.
Stony Plain was the first store to be updated and carries a new banner: Fresón Bros. Fresh Market. It opened on the first day of March this year, and after hearing good reviews about the place, I had to check it out. Pulling into the parking lot, the first thing I noticed was the store's facade. It's retromodern: lots of glass, steel-silver and a barn-red sign and red trim. Up top, the facades distinctive gable...