Farm Boy debuts in St. Catharines

Farm Boy brought its fresh market experience to St. Catharines, about an hour West of Toronto, on Thursday morning, and a few hundred shoppers turned up to get a taste.

Thanking the crowd, store manager Curtis Essex said he was "excited to bring everything Farm Boy offers--the fantastic customer service and products we have to each and everyone of you."

While the new store is Farm Boy's 30th, co-CEO Jeff York said that as the first location in Niagara, it is expected to draw customers from all over the region.

Located in a busy commercial strip at 295 Fourth Ave., the 24,000-sq.-.ft. store delivers on its promise of abundant fresh foods. On offer is an expansive, and immaculately maintained produce section, butcher-quality meats, more than 400 premium cheeses, from-scratch made soups and loads of prepared foods from the Farm Boy Kitchen ranging from sushi to stone-baked flatbreads. Plenty of locally made products and Farm Boy's private label items are also available.

Empire-owned Farm Boy has been aggressively expanding over the past year. In December, it opened a new store in Burlington, Ont., and soon after announced another eight locations (including St. Catharines) within the next two years with five of those planned for Toronto, one in Newmarket and another location in Ottawa. In addition, the Ottawa's Train Yards location is scheduled to be relocated.

Here's a look inside Farm Boy St. Catharines: