CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Earth Fare, an Asheville based grocery store that announced they were closing all 50 locations back in February, is making a comeback.
The health food store has been purchased by a new company and at least 7 locations will be re-opening, including one in Rock Hill. The new president of the company tells WCNC Charlotte she's hopeful they will open more, including in Charlotte.
This announcement comes during an unprecedented time, with so many other businesses struggling to survive.
A sports bar in NoDa was set to open last month, but the coronavirus pandemic has left them hanging in the balance.
“It's been a long time coming up to it and we were really excited,” said Greg Guillorn, co-owner of The Degenerate.
They were all set for a St. Patrick’s Day grand opening, the same day Governor Cooper mandated all bars and restaurants in North Carolina close.
“We didn't really have any presence once St. Patty’s Day hit, so it was going to be too much of an uphill battle to sell our food to go,” says John Wentworth, co-owner.
So instead, they're closed, weathering the storm as long as they can. They had to let the entire staff go but their landlord has been helpful as the coronavirus pandemic forces them to rethink their business plan.
“Whether it’s cutting capacity in half, there’s just a lot of conversations that need to be had on what’s safest for the public," Wentworth said. "Obviously, there’s the aspect that we're new, but every restaurant in America is going to be different."
They plan to open as soon as it’s safe.
Meanwhile, other businesses are more likely to survive because of the pandemic. Earth Fare, a health food grocery store is getting a second chance.
“Our biggest focus is in making that type of food available to our shoppers, so they do have that option,” said Bethany Turon, the new president of the company.
These plans were in motion before the pandemic started, and it’s made it a unique situation.
Shoppers having too many options seemed to be the reason Earth Fare announced they were closing all 50 locations back in February. They have new ownership and with the demand for grocery stores so high because of COVID, they want to get back in the game as soon as it's safe to.
“We work with some local suppliers that haven't had quite the impact as some of the larger companies so that’s where I think our local approach can help us out,” Turon said.
She says they hope to open by the summer.
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