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Farmington • Harmons Grocery Stores' first supermarket in Davis County will offer several distinctive services when it opens Monday.
The Farmington Station Park store will have a registered dietitian to assist customers, Friday date nights, an expansive sandwich bar offering on-site roasted meats served on baked-from-scratch artisan breads, and for harried parents, a healthy check stand surrounded by good-for-kids snacks in place of chewing gum and candy.
In another first for Harmons, no tobacco products will be sold as part of a pilot program to test customer response.
The flagship store is anchor to the Station Park development, west of Interstate 15 at the intersection of Highway 89, Legacy Parkway and the FrontRunner Commuter Rail.
The newest Harmons store will build upon many of the successful features that the locally owned chain is known for, including breads made with organic, locally grown flour and Utah's Redmond sea salt; conventional and organic produce; a gourmet cheese island featuring up to 200 imported and domestic varieties; and all-natural meats, including Harmons' own varieties of freshly prepared sausages and brats.
"With each new store, we try to improve on what we offer," said co-owner Bob Harmon. "We want to help consumers decide what they are going to do for a meal."
The spacious, 69,381-square-foot store features setups that combine specialty items on grocery aisles with traditional brands. In the pasta section, for instance, popular brands are stocked alongside imported varieties, organic offerings and gluten-free noodles.
The chain's first registered dietitian, Jessica Laroche, will be working full time to answer questions and to conduct free workshops on nutrition and healthy eating. She'll also be overseeing cooking classes, and for a fee will provide one-on-one consultations.
Laroche is among the store's 200 specially trained experts, including cheese mongers, artisan bakers schooled at the San Francisco Baking Institute, and chefs and sous chefs who prepare foods using raw ingredients with no additives or preservatives.
"It looks like it's expensive to have specialty trained artisans, but we cut out the middleman because everything is prepared on site and with fresh foods," said CEO Dean Peterson.
On Friday date nights, chefs will prepare top-of-the-line gourmet meals in the upstairs' dining area while couples relax near the fireplace and listen to live music. Next Friday's menu features wild mushroom fricassee salad, cream of asparagus soup, stuffed chicken, potato latkes, patty pan squash and trilayer mousse for two for $70 (including nonalcoholic beverages). Or diners may pick up hot items prepared in the downstairs' delicatessen and take the elevator up to the mezzanine.
Dishes and silverware will be provided for sit-down meals. Freshly prepared grab-to-go entries and sides also are available.
The stores' neighbors shouldn't be seeing shopping carts discarded on dead-end streets or fields. Carts will lock if wheeled too far from the supermarket.
The Farmington store is Harmons' 14th supermarket. The West-Valley-based chain anticipates opening its Emigration Market in southeast Salt Lake City in June and its urban store in Salt Lake's City Creek development in spring 2012.
Grand opening
Monday • 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., a parking lot party with free beverages, sticky buns and entertainment.
8 a.m., wristbands distributed to first 200 customers for gift bags valued at $50, with five bags containing $500 gift cards.
Doors open at 10 a.m.; from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., shoppers turn in wrist bands for gift bags with purchase at check stands.
May 2-7 • "Describe Your Station Park Harmons in Five Words" contest for groceries valued at $5,200 ($100 weekly for 52 weeks), other gift cards.
May 2-15 • 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., samples of Harmons' signature foods, free tastes from vendors, prizes and discussions with specially trained experts.
O For more information on grand opening events, visit http://www.harmonsgrocery.com. —
Harmons in Farmington
Where • 200 N. Station Parkway, west of I-15, next to FrontRunner station
Hours • 6 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week