The Fresh Market - Houston

The Fresh Market has launched a new website!

We are thrilled to announce the launch of our new The Fresh Market Website! Come visit us and take a look around.  

www.thefreshmarket.com

Kale & Quinoa Salad

This healthful recipe uses kale as a salad green and combines it with nutty quinoa and sweet apples. You can use either curly or dark green Tuscan kale here. Serve this dish as a light lunch, as a side dish with grilled chicken, or as a main-course salad.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup quinoa 
• 1 1/2 cups water
• Kosher Salt
• 8 ounces kale, tough stems removed, washed well, dried, and cut crosswise
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 unpeeled sweet apples
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 3 tablespoons EVOO
• Freshly ground black pepper

Preparations:

Put quinoa in a fine mes sieve and rinse well under cold running water. Combine quinoa, water, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer until quinoa is tender and liquid is almost absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain in sieve and rinse under cold running water to cool quinoa. Press excess liquid from quinoa with back of a large spoon. 

Combine kale, lemon juice, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Using your hands, rub ingredients together well until kale is wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Fluff quinoa with a fork. Add quinoa to the kale with apples, pecans, and cranberries. Drizzle with oil and toss well. Season with salt and pepper. Serve at once. (Salad can be refrigerated up to one day).

Chocolate-Banana Cream Pie

For the Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups chocolate wafer or chocolate graham cracker crumbs
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Filling:

• 3 cups half-and-half
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 4 large egg yolks
• 5 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 small bananas, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch rounds

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a 9 inch pie pan

To make the crust: Combine all crust ingredients in a medium bowl until evenly moistened. Press firmly and evenly over bottom and up sides of pan. Bake until crust is set, about 12 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and let cool completely.

To make filling: Heat 2 1/2 cups of half-and-half with sugar and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring often to dissolve sugar, until simmering. Remove from heat. 

Sprinkle cornstarch over remaining 1/2 cup half and half in a small bowl and whisk until dissolved. Whisk egg yolks in a medium bowl and gradually whisk in cornstarch mixture. Gradually whisk in hot half and half mixture. Rinse out saucepan and return mixture to pan. Whisk over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat to low and let bubble, whisking constantly, for 1 minute. Remove from heat and add chocolate, butter, and vanilla. Let stand for 3 minutes, then whisk until chocolate is completely melted.

Spread sliced bananas in bottom of cooled crust. Pour filling over bananas and smooth top. Press a sheet of plastic wrap directly on filling to keep a skin from forming. Let cool completely Refrigerate until filling is chilled and set, at least 2 hours or overnight. 

Romaine Hearts with Avocado, Grapefruit & Red Onion

This crisp salad has a mildly sweet dressing that accents the grapefruit. The avocados (tossed with a couple of tablespoons of the dressing), the soaked and drained onions, and the grapefruit sections can be prepared up to 8 hours ahead, stored in individual self-sealing plastic bags, and refrigerated. When it comes time to serve, it will take only a few minutes to toss it all together, especially because packaged romaine hearts usually do not need to be rinsed and dried. If you use conventional romaine lettuce, it can be cleaned, wrapped in paper towels, and refrigerated in a large plastic bag for up to 8 hours.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil 
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 (18 ounce) package romaine hearts, torn into pieces
• 2 large grapefruits, peeled and segmented
• 3 ripe avocados, pitted, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch cubes

Preparation:

To make dressing: In a blender, combine vinegar, honey, salt and pepper. With machine running, gradually add oil to make a thick dressing

Soak onion in a bowl of cold water for 30 minutes to soften its sharpness. Drain well and pat dry with paper towels

Just before serving, combine lettuce, grapefruits, avocados, and onion in a large serving bowl. Add dressing and toss to coat. Serve at once and ENJOY! 

Cooking in Season with The Fresh Market

Eating with the seasons is a practice that allows you to enjoy foods at their peak of freshness and taste.  The Fresh Market has created ninety delicious recipes inspired by each season’s bounty.  

We will post a new recipe for you to enjoy each week.  We hope you enjoy them as much as we did creating them.

Recipe:  Chicken Breasts with Lemon, Garlic & Rosemary

Wine Suggestion: Pinot Grigio

• 3 large lemons
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 12-ounce bone-in, skin-on chicken breast halves
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken or vegetable broth 
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch 
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary, plus more for garnish

Holiday Wishes

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends.  Stay tuned for a new post later this week.  

The Fresh Market® Leases Four Houston Metropolitan Area Grocery Store Locations

GREENSBORO, North Carolina – November 14, 2012 – The Fresh Market, Inc. (NASDAQ: TFM), a high-growth specialty food retailer, today announced that it has entered into agreements to lease four new store locations that are currently operated as Rice Epicurean Markets, a family-owned specialty food retailer based in Houston, Texas.  Rice Epicurean Markets will continue to operate the stores through the end of the year, and will close these four stores during the first quarter of 2013.  A fifth Rice Epicurean location on Fountain View in the Briargrove neighborhood of Houston is not subject to the transaction and will continue to operate under the Rice Epicurean Markets name.

The Fresh Market’s four new locations will be in the Uptown/Tanglewood, Memorial, River Oaks and West University areas of Houston.  Entities related to the families that own Rice Epicurean Markets will continue their relationship with the community as landlords at three of The Fresh Market’s new locations.  In addition, there will be incremental space at these Rice Epicurean Markets locations for complementary tenants to add further customer excitement to these shopping centers.  The Fresh Market intends to remodel each location and currently expects to open its four new stores in the latter half of fiscal 2013. 

“Our family established our retail grocery business in Houston, Texas 75 years ago and we are proud of Rice Epicurean Market’s many years of service to the community,” said company spokesman Bruce Levy.  “We are excited to welcome The Fresh Market to the Houston metropolitan area and to introduce their concept to our customers and neighbors. We believe their stores will be an excellent fit in this market.”                                                                               

“We are excited to expand into Texas, and into Houston in particular,” said Craig Carlock, The Fresh Market’s President and CEO. “We look forward to introducing The Fresh Market’s concept of quality perishable food, excellent customer service and unique shopping atmosphere to a new set of customers, and we look forward to offering our new neighbors a distinctive food shopping experience, one that we think cannot be beaten.”    

The Fresh Market also looks forward to becoming an active member of the Houston community. Each of the company’s stores will be staffed by approximately 90 people, most of whom will be hired locally, and the current employees of Rice Epicurean Markets will be encouraged to apply for positions at The Fresh Market stores as part of its new store opening process.                                   

The Fresh Market is committed to the communities in which it does business, and its employees enthusiastically support local organizations that are important to the stores’ communities and customers. All of the company’s stores proudly partner with local food banks by providing regular donations of food and the store management is encouraged to make community relations an integral part of their business. In addition, as part of the company’s focus on providing the freshest, best quality products, these new stores will feature local and regional products from Houston-area growers and producers.

The terms of the agreements are not being disclosed.

Inquiries regarding Rice Epicurean Markets should be directed to Bruce Levy, company spokesman, at 713-662-7784 or blevy@riceepicurean.com.

About The Fresh Market, Inc.

Founded in 1982, The Fresh Market, Inc. (NASDAQ: TFM) is a specialty grocery retailer focused on providing high-quality products in a unique and inviting atmosphere with a high level of customer service. The company currently operates 128 stores in 25 states, primarily located in the Southeast, Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, and Northeast, with plans for continued expansion throughout the country. The Fresh Market is an equal opportunity employer.  For more information, please visit www.thefreshmarket.com.

Forward Looking Statements:  This document contains forward-looking statements that reflect our plans, estimates, and beliefs and involve a number of risks and uncertainties.  Any statements contained herein (including, but not limited to, statements to the effect that The Fresh Market or its management “anticipates,” “plans,” “estimates,” “expects,” “believes,” and other similar expressions) that are not statements of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements.  The following are some of the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statements: the ability of Rice Epicurean Markets’ to deliver each of the four locations announced in this press release, and the timing of such delivery; the timing of permits, licenses and other governmental approvals necessary to commence our remodel work; our ability to commence and complete our remodel work in a timely fashion; the acceptance of our concept and store location in the Houston metropolitan area;  unexpected expenses and risks associated with our business; our ability to remain competitive in the areas of merchandise quality, price, breadth of selection, customer service and convenience; unusual, unpredictable and/or severe weather conditions including their effect on the turnover and remodel work for each of the four locations; competition; our ability to build our brand in a new market and our ability to connect with potential customers; commodity, energy, fuel, and other cost increases; compliance with laws, regulations and orders; changes in laws and regulations  and other factors as set forth from time to time in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings.  We intend these forward-looking statements to speak only as of the time of this release and do not undertake to update or revise them as more information becomes available.

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This press release, and access to our earnings call, is also available in the Investor Relations portion of The Fresh Market, Inc. website (http://ir.thefreshmarket.com/).