Central Market

by Kristen Seymour
 

Since first opening its doors in 1994 in Austin, Texas, Central Market has expanded to eight locations statewide, offering more than 50,000 items, including produce, specialty foods, bakery and deli. The company prides itself on providing its customers unique items in unexpected ways, such as allowing samples of anything in the store and year-round cooking classes.

History

In 1992, H-E-B president Charles Butt won a bid on state-owned property in Austin, Texas, with a plan to create a brand new style of grocery shopping. The first Central Market opened in 1994, drawing people from all over the state and becoming a wildly popular tourist destination. In 1998, a San Antonio location was opened, and a second Austin location opened in 1999.

Two years later, Stephen Butt (Charles’ nephew and the grandson of H.E. Butt, Sr.) took over as senior vice president and opened stores in Houston and Fort Worth. The following year, two new stores opened; one in Dallas and one in Plano. In 2006, the eighth store opened in Southlake.

★★STORE STATS★★

Year Opened: 1994

Type of Business: Mini-chain of eight free-standing specialty food stores

Outstanding Features: Cooking classes, multi-faceted promotional events with well-designed supporting graphics and materials, passionate and knowledgeable  employees

Contact: Chris Bostad

Website: centralmarket.com

Points of Distinction

The store stands firm in its position as a specialty retailer, offering a wide variety of grocery items customers couldn’t get otherwise. The goal of Central Market is to provide shoppers an enjoyable and exciting experience they won’t find elsewhere. “Shopping at a Central Market is the equivalent of going to the market stand for produce, visiting the butcher for your meat and poultry, stopping by the bakery, the fishmonger, the wine shop and so on,” says Chris Bostad, director of specialty foods.

Cooking classes, held year-round, are also included in promotional events throughout the year to highlight foods from various cultures, such as a two-week-long “Passport Argentina” course. Classes featured recipes for Argentinian food and staff handed out samples of traditional snacks available in-store.

Additionally, Central Market prides itself on its employees, who are called Partners and considered by the company to be “the most knowledgeable and passionate in the industry” due to their training in every department of the store—produce, seafood, meat, beer/wine, healthy living, floral and more.

Bostad emphasizes Central Market’s produce department, which not only showcases local and organic items but also hard-to-find fruits and vegetables from all over the world. A new made-to-order guacamole cart has proven to be a customer favorite. “Shoppers can customize their guacamole by adding more lime, less cilantro, creamy or chunky, and so on, and take home the best tasting guac in the country just a few seconds after it was made!” Bostad effuses. 

How Central Market Keeps Innovating

Bostad believes that “innovation is everywhere” due to the fact that the chain focuses on hiring employees who are passionate about what they do and gives them the tools they need to experiment and succeed. Bostad also notes that Central Market gets new ideas from everywhere—including customer suggestions.—K.S.

See all of the 2011 Award Winners by visiting the following link: 2011 Outstanding Retailer Awards

Eva Meszaros is associate editor of Specialty Food Magazine.
Kristen Seymour is a freelance writer for Paw Nation, That’s Fit,
BlogHer and Pet Home Magazine.

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