Later this year, Tallahassee residents will have a place to buy essential groceries, from fresh dairy and freshly baked bread, to a list of household items, without stepping foot from their car.
Farm Stores, a Florida-based grocery store that provides a unique grocery experience, is set to open its doors in its first Tallahassee location.
These grocery stores — or “convenient stores” — as vice president of business development Victor Arechavaleta calls it — offer favorite grocery brands in addition to products you can’t find anywhere else, delivered directly to your car.
“Think about the things in a house that, if you run out of them on a Tuesday night, you have to get,” Arechavaleta told the Tallahassee Democrat. “They can’t wait for Saturday morning shopping, right? Those are the things that we carry.”
Construction began in July on the corner of West Tharpe Street and Old Bainbridge Road. If you are an A Town Wings connoisseur, you will know this location.
It is only a 10-minute straight shot from Florida A&M University’s campus.
The Tharpe Street location hours are not set; however, Farm Stores are typically open from 7 a.m.-10 p.m. This will allow college students, with full schedules, the opportunity to retrieve groceries at a later time of night.
“Students are always jumping from one class to another, most have outside jobs, internships, extracurricular activities, and more leaving them little to no time for things such as grocery shopping,” Jordan Perez, who manages the marketing for the Tallahassee Farm Stores location said. “We’ve all been stuck eating fast food multiple times a week because we’re in a time crunch, or out of eggs and can’t be bothered to go across town to a crowded grocery store for just one thing. The best part is that you don’t even have to get out of your car — you order everything through our app and use the drive-thru to pick it up at any time! It is so nice after a long day of classes and tests to pull into our store on the way home and have all your groceries brought out to you without wasting any time.”
The drive-thru experience is also a great solution for those still wary of shopping in stores since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, as it offers a safe shopping experience. Farm Stores do not allow customers inside the store; only the staff, and they do not have customer parking. Physical contact is kept to a minimum to allow for easy convenience.
“People found it to be the absolute best option for low or no contact shopping for essentials,” Arechavaleta said.
Farm Stores is working with student athletes and a few of the colleges to offer some products and discounts and will be partnering with local vendors to provide different lunch specials every day to give students the opportunity to have some of their favorite foods brought closer to them.
“We are so excited to be bringing this concept to the Tallahassee area, and look forward to getting more involved with the community and students, and finding new opportunities to grow,” Perez said.
This Tharpe Street location is now interviewing candidates. To get started, send a resume and references to the email at Nick.G@farmstores.com.
To stay updated on the location’s progress and the grand opening date, visit the location’s Facebook page, “Farm Stores Tallahassee,” or Instagram @farmstores.tally.