>>York said he sees the Westboro store as a farmers’ market with an urban edge. “It’s very warm,” he said of the design. “I consider it boutique shopping on a mass scale.”The two-story layout features an in-store mezzanine eating area on the second level. It’s also the first Farm Boy with underground parking.“Not having a parking lot in front of the store is a whole different mindset,” he added. “We had to incorporate a vestibule into our design including staircases and elevators.”As with other Farm Boys, perimeter fresh departments such as produce, meat, dairy and HMR are emphasized. Selection includes more than 500 Ontario dairy products and over 300 varieties of cheese. It also features a 64-foot salad and hot barOne of the highlights for York is a made-to-order pizza station, where customers can choose their toppings and have their pizza in-hand within five minutes. “We roll the dough right in front of them,” he said. He said the Farm Boy customer wants to know where their food is coming from, and working with local suppliers is key to Farm Boy.Another priority for Farm Boy is hiring the right people, and York said staff can spend anywhere from four to six months learning the Farm Boy philosophy.York said Farm Boy is actively working on 10 to 12 Farm Boy locations in the GTA, and anticipates rolling out the new urban concept to other areas of Ontario.“The Westboro store is really going to be focal point for us,” said York. “We want people from the GTA to come and look at it, and to let us know what they think.”","headline":"Farm Boy opens first urban concept store","description":"CEO Jeff York says Farm Boy is eyeing the Toronto market","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://canadiangrocer.com/images/v/16_x_9_480/s3/teaser_image_65900.jpg","width":"655","height":"368"},"datePublished":"2016-06-23T07:00:00-0500","dateModified":"Wed, 12/15/2021 - 16:13","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"","url":"https://canadiangrocer.com/author-profile/"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Canadian Grocer","url":"https://canadiangrocer.com/"}}