The produce department on the late afternoon of June 3, at Bristol Farms, Palm Desert, Calif., had creative ways for displaying lower-stock categories in the area's off-season for local fruits and vegetables.
Notice the cross-merchandising, fresh-cut, premium items and varieties that appeal to the tastes of the area's residents — both wealthy shoppers with second homes in the area and year-round locals. There's also a lot of organic items — not relegated to one area.
This store is one of several in the banner, owned by Good Food Holdings.
Neil Stern is CEO of Good Food Holdings, which operates 51 premium and natural and organic supermarkets in Washington, Oregon and California under these grocery banners: Bristol Farms, Lazy Acres Natural Market, Metropolitan Market, New Seasons Market and New Leaf Community Markets.
He called Bristol Farms a melding of two celebrity chefs and authors: the late Anthony Bourdain and Alice Waters – outspoken, edgy and classy and highly regarded, respectively.
It's a place where celebrities shop, Stern said during his talk at Sustainable Produce Summit, hosted by PMG and The Packer in Palm Desert. In his presentation, Stern showed photos of actress Reese Witherspoon and pop star Taylor Swift shopping at Bristol Farms.
On our visit, we only spotted two fellow attendees of the Summit, but that was exciting too.
Related news: SPS features Neil Stern of Bristol Farms, Metropolitan Market and more.