In an effort to meet the increasing demand, a vendor is set to open later this month at the Fresh Market in Hershey Towne Square.
On January 23, Country Grower’s Farm & Fin will open in the basement level of the Derry Township market. The 450-square-foot shop will sell sustainable and locally produced meats and seafood.
Hadi Haddad is the proprietor, and he and his wife, Lillian Chedraoui, run Mediterranean Medley at the market and at Fairgrounds Farmers Market in Reading.
Ready-to-eat items including salads, gyros, homemade hummus, snacks, and crepes are the stand’s specialty. The brand is used by Mediterranean Sweets, which serves desserts such rice pudding, tiramisu, and baklava cheesecake.
Haddad stated that he opened Country Growers for two reasons: first, he wanted to test a whole foods-based business plan, and second, the Hershey market needed a vendor to sell fresh meats and seafood.
As more Americans turn to more natural foods devoid of additives and preservatives, he stated that he hopes to capitalize on the expanding clean eating movement in the US.
Getting a miniature gourmet grocery is the ultimate objective. Thus, if you can picture Wegmans’ fresh food. He said, “That’s kind of what we’re going for.”
He claimed that produce markets in his home country of Australia, which incorporate a range of fresh goods, including coffee and breakfast items, have an influence on Mediterranean Medley and Country Growers. He took the name Country Grower after his family’s Australian company.
Four product categories will be offered at the stand: fish, meat, chicken, and poultry.
The family-run Sinking Spring farm WingSwept Acres will provide the pasture-raised chicken. The proprietors farm sustainably and ethically.
A Dillsburg farm will supply 95% grass-fed, sustainably raised beef that is hormone- and antibiotic-free. Among other cuts, there will be ground beef, short ribs, and ribeye. A portion of Country Grower’s pork will also be supplied by the farm.
Sustainable seafood will be purchased from partners in Philadelphia and Reading. There will be no farm-raised fish among the options, but there will be Gulf shrimp, mussels, clams, lobster, oysters, and wild-caught fish.
The lower floor of the market is open Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Stories by
Sue Gleiter