The recent reopening of Grosse Pointe Park’s Fairfax Market has welcomed the community back to its new and improved market, featuring many new and high-quality items. Fairfax was closed for a year before the new owner, Zack Assaf, decided to take a chance on the market and reopen its doors in Nov. 2023. Assaf, a Grosse Pointe Park resident, is also the owner of the very popular Village Wine Shop.
When you first walk into Fairfax, you will immediately notice significant improvements. It is more spacious and neatly organized under its revamped footprint. Fresh decor highlights Grosse Pointe Park street names painted on the walls. Several updated features give customers the ability to buy a larger variety of groceries.
Assaf also installed a new slurpee and soda fountain machine. Slurpees are very popular, so when Fairfax put one in their market, it grabbed a lot of attention, especially from the local children. The slurpee machine is located by the entrance of the market and definitely caught my eye at first sight.
As you walk throughout the market, customers will notice several different types of fresh fruits and vegetables now conveniently presented in the middle of the market. It is organized by color, making the display visually appealing.
Fairfax also has a menu of several pre-made hot meals and soups, all of which are served daily. The menu selection rotates throughout the week. Having these options make it very convenient for busy customers to stop in and grab a well-made hot meal without stressing over what to make for dinner.
In the back corner of the store, there is an updated meat counter filled with a variety of fresh poultry, seafood and beef. The worker behind the counter is very knowledgeable and takes pride in helping customers with their meat selection. The meat counter also includes many cold food items, like housemade pasta and potato salads.
For customers craving something sweet, Fairfax sells many desserts, candies and ice cream. Instead of stocking generic run-of-the-mill ice cream, they sell the most popular flavors from Ben and Jerry’s. They sell fresh desserts, pastries, donuts and bagels that are made fresh each morning. Their candy selection is extensive, with large plastic containers filled with different types of gummies, hard candies and chocolates.
While the interior received a much-needed facelift, the outdoor space will be updated once the weather turns warm. The old outdoor seating area will be expanded with new tables and chairs, allowing customers to comfortably sit back and enjoy the market’s delicious meals and slurpees. Assaf mentioned that he will be installing an outdoor speaker so customers will be able to enjoy music while they are sitting outside.
For my first time in Fairfax in quite a while, I found it to be extremely welcoming. The workers are local and you can tell the new owner has a lot of pride in supporting the growth within the community. I look forward to supporting a new business that is providing a lot to our community.
