Gourmet Grocer Central Market to open 5th Dallas store

Gourmet grocer Central Market will open a fifth Dallas area store before Thanksgiving, taking over the recently abandoned Borders Bookstore location in North Dallas-less than five miles away from an existing CM flagship. That means great kolaches will soon be five miles closer for residents outside the Bubble. Here’s what CM revealed today, following a story about the new location in today’s Dallas Morning News:

Fans of Dallas, Texas-based specialty food retailer Central Market will soon have a new location to explore. And this store will be unlike any Central Market they’ve seen before.

The specialty foods retailer just announced it has taken space for a ninth location – the fifth for the DFW area – on the southeast corner of Royal Lane and Preston Road in the Preston Oaks shopping center. The space is approximately 30,000 square feet. Residents who frequent the shopping center will recognize the location as the Borders book store, which the chain recently announced it would close.

“Research has shown us – and many of our customers have told us, too – that while we’re a destination store, and they’ll drive from ten, thirty, even more than a hundred miles to shop with us, they’d like us to be more accessible, closer to home,” said Stephen Butt, Senior Vice President of Central Market, a division of H-E-B.

“By adding a new, neighborhood-friendly store design to our portfolio, we can start to better respond to our customers’ interests. We believe this is a new way to bring what Central Market offers to more and more customers in the future.”

Butt explained the company has been visiting real estate around the state, searching for just the right location to launch its new store concept.

“We’ve searched for quite a long time for just the right location for our newest store,” said Butt. “In my experience, it seems a location this special, with such an influential and active community surrounding it, is truly a rare find.”

As with its previous eight stores, the company promises the new location will have its own personality and will be designed especially for the neighborhood area it will serve.

Shoppers can expect the dazzling food and drink assortment that is the hallmark of the award-winning grocer. The procurement team at Central Market is already at work to bring new items for customers’ adventures in food.

“We’ve begun traveling for new ideas, design inspiration and food finds to bring to the new store,” said David Lusk, Chief Merchant. “Customers can expect an offering of our most popular items, such as artisan-made breads and desserts, a wide variety of daily meal options created by Central Market chefs, as well as our signature best quality produce, meat, seafood and unique staples.”

The company expects it will be staffed with an estimated 200 food-savvy, customer-service oriented Partners (as Central Market and H-E-B employees are known) that will make the shopping experience an outstanding one for customers.

“This is the newest generation of our Central Market brand, with many new possibilities to re-imagine what we already do well: create the world’s most fun and exciting food shopping experience, in a store that doubles as a community gathering space,” said Butt.

Central Market worked with Terry Montesi of Trademark Property Company when choosing the space.

“I have never had so much interest in any single space in my career,” said Terry Montesi, Chairman and CEO of Trademark and owner of the shopping center. “We had several great merchants express serious interest in replacing Borders, but in the end I felt like Central Market, and what it would create for this neighborhood, would be the perfect long-term fit.”

“The location find is actually bittersweet,” shared Butt of the news that the Borders store would be closing its doors. “That’s been the family bookstore for me and my wife and our daughters for more than ten years. We’re disappointed to lose it but, at the same time, we’re excited to bring a cool new food destination to this part of Dallas.”

This newest Central Market store is currently slated to open just before the holiday season.