Earth Fare coming back to Orlando’s SoDo neighborhood
“We look forward to once again welcoming familiar faces through our doors and continuing to be an essential part of this vibrant neighborhood.”
Randy Talley, Earth Fare chief sustainability officer
Organic grocery store chain Earth Fare is returning to Orlando’s SoDo neighborhood after closing all of its stores earlier this year.
Earth Fare is expected to come back to its former spot on the ground floor of the Novel Lucerne mixeduse community on Orange Avenue south of downtown near Orlando Health by the end of the year.
Minor renovations have started in the 24,000-square-foot space, according to a news release sent to the Orlando Sentinel by a representative for JLL, which represented the landlord in the transaction.
The grocery store chain closed both that store and its Lake Nona location earlier this year and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The closures were particularly noticeable for organic food shoppers as they came shortly after Lucky’s Market announced it was closing its stores and seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The news release said a new ownership group has revitalized Earth Fare with 12 other locations in the Southeast and plans to grow. The chain’s only other Florida location is in Ocala, according to its website.
“We look forward to once again welcoming familiar faces through our doors and continuing to be an essential part of this vibrant neighborhood,” Earth Fare chief sustainability officer Randy Talley said in the news release.
Earth Fare came to Orlando in 2018 with the opening of the Lake Nona store and then the store in the SoDo neighborhood last year.
Grocery stores have since seen a boost from the coronavirus pandemic as people dine out less in restaurants.
For instance, Lakeland-based grocery giant Publix said it brought in an estimated $2.5 billion more in sales because of coronavirus in the first half of the year. It has about 125 stores in Orange, Seminole, Osceola, Lake and Volusia Counties.
Earth Fare also won’t be the only new grocery store to arrive later this year.
Sprouts Farmers Market is expected to open its third Orlando-area location in the Doctor Phillips neighborhood in November. Sprouts has locations in Oviedo and Winter Park.