I feel zero qualms about picking Rhode Island-based Dave's Marketplace for my Top 10 list two years in a row.
Produce buyer Kenny Banalewicz invited me to a party to celebrate the company's 10 store, a remodeled Seabra in Cranston, Rhode Island, back in April, and I was happy I could work it in to my travel plans.
There's something cool about seeing a store gussied up for a party (complete with a fish so big you'd never see it actually on a display in most supermarkets). Every little piece of fruit was facing just the right way.
But it's more than pretty displays that makes Dave's Marketplace excel. Go ahead. Google them. The reviews are mostly glowing, with one Yelper calling it "Whole Foods without the attitude."
Beautiful design. Quality produce. Neighborly people.
Dave's is all about the awesome people, and that's what pushed them ahead in my Top 10 Store Checks of 2017.