Harris Farm Marketsis set to open two stores in Brisbane.
The family-owned retailer will start trading from a store in Clayfield next month before opening a flagship store in West End in May (2021). They will be to onlyHarris Farm Markets stores outside New South Wales.
Over 200 staff will be employed across the two stores, which will source produce from more than 300 Queensland growers.
The Clayfield store will sit on the Clayfield Markets site, where Carlo and Susan Lorenti have run a much-loved fruit and vegetable operation for the past 25 years. The Harris family has a strong link to the location.
“We are incredibly excited to be opening at this site because Harris Farm used to own it 30 years ago before handing it over to Carlo and Susan,” said Harris Farm Markets co-CEO Tristan Harris, one of the three Harris sons who now run the company after their parents, David and Cathy Harris, retired.
“It’s a full-circle story and we are thrilled that Carlo and Susan are staying on as our managers at Clayfield, along with as many staff as possible.”
The Clayfield store will undergo a rebuild, redesign and changeover before opening in late November.
“The Clayfield store will be home to the best in fruit and vegetables, including a tomato shed, organic produce section and a leaderboard of Queensland strawberries and mangoes, as well as a gourmet grocery section of boutique local products, an extensive deli and offering of more than 200 cheeses, a bakery section with the best breads from sourdough to brioche, and a premium meat selection,” explained Tristan Harris.
“Queensland is famed for the richness and range of produce grown across the state, and to be able to work with so many wonderful producers is one of our dreams.”
Harris Farm Markets will take over part of the historic Peters Ice Cream building, built in the 1920s, for its West End flagship store.
“If Clayfield is our historic family home in Brisbane, then West End will be our headquarters,” said Tristan Harris.
“The warehouse space is nothing short of extraordinary and will allow us to build our flagship Queensland Harris Farm Markets store, with great local fruit, veg and gourmet grocery, as well as some local concession partnerships we’re really excited about.
“Opening in West Village, one of the most exciting urban developments we have ever seen, is a fantastic opportunity, particularly given the history of fresh fruit and vegetable markets in the West End peninsula.”
