Columbia Earth Fare sets opening date for much-anticipated store reboot
Earth Fare, the beloved Devine Street organic grocery store, is set to reopen Aug. 12.
The health- and specialty-foods grocer closed its stores across the country earlier this year. But the Devine Street store just outside downtown Columbia is one of at least seven Earth Fare locations reopening under new ownership after the company declared bankruptcy in February.
New store manager David Ruvolis told The State Monday the store will open with very few changes. A walk-through on Monday showed an identical store layout and signage.
“We’re not changing anything, except for precautions because of coronavirus,” he said.
Central to those precautions, beyond the now-normal social distancing and frequent sanitizing, is that the store’s popular hot bar and salad bar will not reopen during the pandemic, Ruvolis said.
When it announced its store closings in February, Earth Fare cited “challenges in the retail industry” that kept the company from expanding and improving and hindered “its ability to refinance its debt.”
A group of former executives, investors and a co-founder of the original company came together to buy the Earth Fare brand name out of bankruptcy and resurrect the business with a back-to-basics mindset.
When word got out that Earth Fare was making a comeback, the new company leaders were flooded with messages from people in Columbia asking for the store to return, New Earth Fare president Bethany Turon, a former executive of the original company, told The State in April.
“That was so moving,” she said. “To me, that’s what it’s all about, is the way we support the community, and it has to be a two-way street. All of their passion for the store, I believe, is what powered it to get stood back up.”
The store at 3312 Devine St. is now taking applications for employment either through walk-ins or at earthfare.com.