Produce Retailer

You wouldn’t expect to find fresh truffles in a produce department in east Texas.

But the Fresh by Brookshire’s has them — along with about five different kinds of radishes, a plethora of tomatoes, several kinds of cooking greens, exotic citrus like Buddha’s hand — and just about anything else you’d expect to find at a high-end specialty food store in a major market.  

But this market is Tyler, Texas, a town two hours east of Dallas with a population of about 100,000. It’s also the home of Brookshire Grocery Co., a chain with about 150 stores in Texas and Louisiana.
 
 “A significant number of people travel to Dallas to get hard-to-find food and specialty items,” says Christi Khalaf, marketing and community relations specialist. “There’s a perception that you can’t get these items in Tyler.”

Now, Khalaf says, the store sees customers from Shreveport, La., to Dallas come to enjoy its selection of fresh and prepared foods.

Brookshire’s describes the store, which opened last March, as a hybrid between an organic and conventional store.

The produce department features wooden crates and iced tables to give it a farmers market feel with a strong emphasis on service.

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Produce manager George Flores said his job is a challenging combination of customer service, buying and category management. The Fresh store’s procurement runs separately from the rest of Brookshire’s stores, and Flores relies on specialty suppliers. Khalaf says Flores’ role is to be the “local expert on the produce everybody wants.”

Flores took on the role after 20 years with Brookshire’s, including 11 at the company’s distribution center as a produce inspector and buyer.

“This is a produce manager’s dream,” he says. “I get to reach out to different vendors and just wow our customers. It’s been the highlight of my career.”

Flores acknowledges it’s a challenge to manage the wide variety of fruits and vegetables that an average shopper might not be familiar with. Shrink is higher than a standard store, but Fresh works to minimize it through a wide selection of fresh-cut and chef-prepared items.

“This is very much a research and development store,” says Steve Delello, general manager. “We’re working on our systems to help reduce our shrink and help our other departments.”

For now, Flores says he’s focusing on providing the best and widest variety of produce he can, establishing relationships with local growers and wowing customers every day.