After twenty years of owning Fresh Farms Market, business owners Steve and Larry Najjar have accomplished their goal of expanding the grocery store into something larger.

“In 1997, we purchased the business here, and that was our plan all along was to some day buy the property and expand the store and build a new store here,” Steve said. “So that was our long term goal to have a sizeable market here in downtown Grosse Pointe.”

The Najjars bought the new property in 2012 and said that’s when they initiated their plans for an expansion. They have an estimate for when it will be up and running.

“Right now we’re at the end of August,” Steve said “They’ll start doing the foundation in about a month or two and then we’ll be done next summer.”

Fresh Farms employee Stuart Sturton said the employees at Fresh Farms are constantly asked about the new store, but as a worker he’s not told too much.

“We have a vague notion of what everything is going to be like,” Sturton said. “So, it gets a little awkward when people keep asking us.”  

Sturton said he thinks the expansion will help the business, but that it won’t affect him or his job, besides making parking a little more difficult.

“As of right now it makes parking a bit of a bugger and other than that, it’s going to help the store out quite a bit,” Sturton said. “It’s going to expand things.”

Alex Strehlke ’18 said he frequents the grocery store for lunch almost every day.He also does not think the move will affect him very much or his lunch plans.  

“They’ll still have the same food, maybe more, and I think other than having a place to eat, I don’t see it affecting me that much,” Strehlke said.

The business move is what the Najjars had intended for twenty years. Steve said it represents that Fresh Farms is doing  well financially thanks to the support from the Grosse Pointe community.

“It something we’ve been planning,” Steve said. “In business you need a goal and that has been our goal since the beginning.”