Sunday, May 23, 2021

Life After Earth Fare - Bravo Supermarkets


Earth Fare #582 / Bravo Supermarket of Lake Nona
13024 Narcoosee Road, Orlando, FL - The Shoppes at Nona Place

     The Great Organic Supermarket Collapse of 2020 had quite the large effect on Florida's supermarket scene. The two chains that made up the great collapse - Lucky's Market and Earth Fare - were both in the midst of large expansion pushes throughout Florida when the bottom suddenly fell out on both of those chains. While Lucky's and Earth Fare weren't in Florida long, their short time here will be remembered through all the interesting building conversions those chains have given us, as other grocers, both large and small, have been slowly bringing these buildings back to life. We've seen a few Lucky's and Earth Fare conversions on the blog already, and we'll continue to see more as time goes on. Today's post is yet another installment in our conversion saga, as we get a taste of how different operators (such as Publix, Winn-Dixie, Aldi, and some independents) are making use of these buildings. 


     Before we get to the interesting part - the conversion - let's take a quick look at today's store prior to its liquidation as Earth Fare. For those of you sharply eyed readers out there, the photos in the first part of today's post will look familiar to you. Why? That's because I posted all of these photos in the past, in this My Florida Retail post where I documented the liquidation of Earth Fare. So why am I posting these photos again you ask? Well, a few reasons: 1) I actually never posted any photos of Earth Fare (while in operation) to AFB before, so I figured I'd give Earth Fare a little representation here, in addition to what I've covered already on MFR. 2) It'll be fun to compare and contrast the before and after photos of this place with everything fresh in your mind from seeing it again.

     So what I'm trying to say is just treat the first part of the post as a refresher, so you can get the full picture of just what Bravo did (or should I say, what little Bravo did) during their conversion process. If you'd like the full backstory on Earth Fare's situation in Florida, you can check that out here in the first few paragraphs of my original post on this store.


     To begin our little recap of the Lake Nona Earth Fare, here's a little background on the store itself: Earth Fare opened this location on September 29, 2018, anchoring a small plaza off Narcoosee Road near Lake Nona High School. Lake Nona is a relatively new suburban community in Eastern Orlando, with the community really sprouting to life in the early-mid 2010's (and is still expanding as of the present). Earth Fare built their store as part of a little plaza in the heart of Lake Nona's new retail district, which is located along Narcoosee Road south of the Route 528 toll road. For a trendy up-and-coming community like Lake Nona, a specialty organic retailer seemed like the perfect fit the area. Like most of the Floridian Earth Fare stores, the Lake Nona location had a short life - only 1 1/2 years in length - when it closed for good on February 25, 2020 with the rest of the company's stores. While some of Earth Fare's stores were sold at a bankruptcy auction (an auction at which Southeastern Grocers purchased 4 former locations for conversion into new Winn-Dixie stores), the Lake Nona store was not purchased by anyone at the auction. While there were no takers at the auction, it wasn't long after that when Bravo Supermarkets decided to give it a go with this former Earth Fare location. After some light remodeling, Bravo opened on December 18, 2020, but we'll see more of Bravo in the second half of this post.


     The above photo (as well as the prior one) showcase Earth Fare's produce department. Since I visited this store about halfway through its liquidation process, the produce department had already emptied out, and was being used to sell off random store supplies and fixtures. While plastic containers aren't something I'd call "Fresh Organic & Local", the produce department provided the most empty space to store and sell all this stuff.


     From the edge of the produce department, here's a look across the front end. The registers were located behind that stack of crates in the distance, with the prepared foods counters poking out from the side wall.


     While a lot of the merchandise had depleted as discounts hit 60% off in some categories, the entirety of the sales floor was still open during my liquidation visit. Seen here is the store's rightmost aisle, home to bulk foods. During my visit, almost all the bulk foods had been sold out. 


     The Meat and Seafood counter was located in the back right corner of the store, with the seafood portion of the counter wrapping around into the corner itself (although I didn't get a picture of that). I like how the signage was attached to a shiny chrome-like backing, which is somewhat reminiscent of the shiny paneling Winn-Dixie used in late 1980's Marketplace stores (though sans the neon here at Earth Fare). Apparently, Bravo was a fan of this style too, as well see in a bit (your first hint of what's to come).


     Looking across the back of the store, we see the empty dairy coolers off to my right. The center of this aisle was also being used to house some additional random fixtures that were for sale.


     A sad liquidation shot of one of the depleting aisles...


     Here's a look across the front of the store, toward the "grand aisle". And its not a supermarket liquidation without a few racks of greeting cards that no one seems to be buying!


     Frozen foods was located in the center of the store.


     Earth Fare's wine department can be seen here, nestled in a little pocket behind health and beauty.


     Stepping away from the wine, here's the health and beauty department I just mentioned, which took up two aisles between frozen foods and the fresh departments.


     Returning to the back of the store, here's one final look toward the grocery aisles.


     The bakery department was located in the back left corner, the very last department in the "grand aisle" (the remainder of which is out of frame to my left).


     Since we were over half way through the closing at the time of my visit, none of the fresh departments were open anymore. I'm surprised this side of the store wasn't roped off yet, actually, but the lack of caution tape made picture taking that much easier!


     Stepping back a bit from the last photo, we can see the deli counter, the salad bar, and the hot foods bar. To my right were coolers for drinks and beer, which were also empty (except for one cooler at the very front of the aisle, which had a few random drink bottles consolidated into it).


     Like just about every modern Earth Fare store, the city or neighborhood name was incorporated into the name of the prepared foods department, which was called the "Nona Place Kitchen" here. Nona Place is actually the name of the small shopping center this store is located in, and not the name of the area (which is Lake Nona). No matter how they phrased it though, it was still a fun little addition of local flare.


     To the left of the Nona Place Kitchen was the juice bar, which like all the other fresh departments, was closed.


     Here's a quick look at the front end as we wrap up our pre-closure refresher, this view looking back toward the produce department.


     Thanks - see you soon, Nona Place. By soon, we mean in just a few seconds, when we return to see this store in its new life.


     So that's what this building was like when Earth Fare was here. Now that we have those images fresh in our mind, let's fast forward through time by a year and see what Bravo has done to the place:


     If you haven't picked up on my rather strong hints thus far, Bravo didn't do much to this building after moving in. On the exterior, besides swapping logos, everything is exactly the same as Earth Fare had it. Even the signs on the red awning to the left of the entrance were carried over, stating things like "Humanely Raised" and "Certified Organic" - all things that were part of Earth Fare's operating philosophies, and not necessarily Bravo's.


     For those of you unfamiliar with Bravo (as I believe this is the first time I've shown one of their stores on the blog), let me explain what they are. Bravo is a chain of Hispanic-oriented supermarkets based out of New York City, where the company operates a number of stores. Bravo made a jump from NYC to Florida in the 2000's to take advantage of the state's growing Hispanic population, and of all the Hispanic-oriented grocery chains in the state, Bravo has the most widespread distribution of stores (with locations in most decent-sized cities from Ocala southward). Bravo is structured where each store is owned by someone different, although some owners do own multiple locations. That structure leads to some wide variety in Bravo's stores, with some of their locations shoved into tiny 10,000 square foot spaces in odd locations (like old drugstores and furniture stores), to more mainstream 30,000-40,000 square foot stores in major shopping centers. Upkeep also varies between owners too, and in Florida, Bravo doesn't have a reputation for being the cleanest place to shop. While I've been to a good handful of Bravo stores through the years, this one does take the prize for being the nicest Bravo I've ever seen. The building is practically new, the remodel turned out nice, and the place was clean. Unlike most places Bravo operates, Lake Nona is probably one of the most upmarket areas I've seen them open a store, so this store has some higher standards to fulfill if they wish to be successful here.


     The new Lake Nona Bravo is owned by the same person who owns the majority of the other Bravo stores in the greater Orlando area, so this location is one of nine that falls under the same management (you can read more about the owners in this article).


     Bravo kept Earth Fare's outdoor seating area, which is an addition to a small seating area inside on the other side of those windows. Like most Hispanic supermarkets in Florida, Bravo has a large prepared foods kitchen/cafeteria, which works well for all these seating areas inherited from Earth Fare.


     Bravo installed this sign on the front, one of the few other modifications they made to the exterior.


     Heading inside, we start off with a photo taken within the store's produce department, looking toward the new "Wall of Values". While produce was confined to only this corner while Earth Fare was here, Bravo expanded produce into the store's first aisle, which we'll see more of in just a moment.


     Stepping further into the expanded produce department (which spills into the store's first aisle), here we get our first taste of the "where supermarkets collide" decor we'll see in the remainder of this post. While Bravo installed their own decor in places, they also left Earth Fare's decor completely in-tact in others. From what I understand, Bravo does have some standardized decor packages owners can use, however, owners have some freedom in what decor actually gets installed. While some Bravo stores in Florida use 100% Bravo decor, many others end up mixing the standardized decor with bits and pieces of stuff inherited from others, like we have here. The "Wall of Values" sign is from the standard Bravo decor, while the "Farm Fresh Choices" sign is very much left over from Earth Fare.


     The "Fresh Produce" sign was installed over Earth Fare's old paneling, after all the old signage from the bulk foods department (which Bravo doesn't have) was removed. To make room for more produce displays and those coffin coolers, Bravo eliminated Earth Fare's first two grocery aisles. A lot of the rearranging Bravo did came from moving around the grocery aisles, to the point where Bravo now has more grocery aisles than Earth Fare had. We'll see how Bravo accomplished that in just a moment.


     Turning around, here we have another view of the produce department as we begin to make the transition to the meat and seafood counter (which looks quite familiar, doesn't it?).


     Bravo left Earth Fare's meat and seafood signage completely in-tact, and it looks like the meat and seafood cases themselves were carried over too. Unlike my original photos from Earth Fare's liquidation, the photo above gives a better perspective of how the counters are arranged, with seafood in the corner under the angled wall.


     Turning around, here's a view looking across the back of the store. Bravo made the back aisle much wider than Earth Fare had, and Bravo installed new (and larger) coffin coolers to run down the center of the aisle too.


     However, in order to make up for the spacious perimeter aisles, space had to get cut somewhere else. In order to get 9 full of aisles of groceries to fit in this small building, the center grocery aisles were quite narrow - barely wide enough for two carts to pass by comfortably.


     Turning out of the aisle, here's a look across the front end. The check lanes are all new, as they're set up differently than the ones Earth Fare had.


     Another grocery aisle shot before we turn our attention to the back of the store again...


     Beyond the meat and seafood service counter, Bravo swapped out the signage for the departments back here. Originally, Earth Fare's dairy department was located along the back wall between meat and the bakery, however, Bravo relocated dairy to one of the grocery aisles in order to make more room for pre-packaged meats.


     The wood paneling visible behind Bravo's "Fresh Meats" sign is a remnant from Earth Fare's dairy decor. All Bravo did was change the signage itself, not the backing paneling.


     The grocery aisles stay pretty narrow until we get to Frozen Foods.



     Frozen foods and dairy are located in this aisle, located just before the service departments and the "grand aisle". Earth Fare had a single aisle of coolers, which Bravo expanded upon by pulling the two rows of coolers further apart and adding another coffin cooler to the center of the aisle.


     Frozen foods again, as seen facing the other direction.


     The store's last aisle is still home to the deli, bakery, and prepared foods departments, with some open-faced beer coolers replacing Earth Fare's drink coolers that once lined the right side of this aisle. Bravo also relocated the wine department from the grocery aisles into an alcove (called the "Nona Winery" - nice local flare there!) in the back corner, that space formerly home to the gourmet cheese coolers.


     Most of the Bravo stores I've been to don't have much of a bakery, although large bakeries aren't something a lot of Floridian Hispanic supermarkets feature. Interestingly, Bravo was running a full-service bakery here, complete with a selection of breads and pastries.


     Turning around, here's a look back toward the Deli and the Nona Place Kitchen. Another unusual-for-Bravo feature I saw here was a full-service deli with sliced meats and other cold cuts. That's not a common feature at Hispanic supermarkets around here either, with the "Deli" instead serving as a large cafeteria in most cases.


     While full-service bakeries and a nice selection of cold cuts are rarities, this was a first for me at any Hispanic supermarket that I've ever been to - a sushi counter! Yes, sushi is not the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of a store like this, but this is a full-service sushi counter added into Earth Fare's old juice bar. According to the website for The Escobar Kitchen (which is an independent entity that Bravo must rent out this space to), The Escobar Kitchen was created to "fuse together the explosive tastes of the Latin and Asian Cuisines to bring you a unique culinary experience". That being said, Bravo's sushi counter aims to blend those two very different cuisines together, which ties this sushi counter back into the store's Hispanic theme. A Latin fusion sushi counter is certainly not something you see everyday, and a nice upmarket twist to fit the Lake Nona community.


     As we get ready to leave for the last time, here's a look across the front of the store again, looking back toward produce. Bravo has 6 check lanes to my right, with a small service desk (not pictured) in front of those.


     Thanks - see you soon, Nona Place. (Why do I feel like I've said that before?)


     I always find it interesting to see a new supermarket reuse bits and pieces from a prior occupant in the building (or imported remnants too - those are just as interesting of a sight!). Bravo had a creative way of incorporating bits and pieces of Earth Fare into their new store, however, it all came together well. As time goes on, it will be interesting to see how others reuse these buildings too, and in the process, maybe we'll find some other pieces of the past along the way!

     So that's all I have for today's post. More Albertsons coming your way in two weeks, so be sure to come back then for more!

Until the next post,

The Albertsons Florida Blogger

14 comments:

  1. The question here is if this is a Bravo Fare or an Earth Bravo, lol. Such a name is clearly appropriate here. I would call out Bravo for completely re-using Earth Fare's signage on that red overhang on the outside of the store, but we know Kroger re-used a lot of Albertsons department signage and is still re-using AppleTree department signage from the early 1990s in at least one Houston location!

    Then again, I'm certainly prone to calling out Kroger. Check out how Kroger has defaced this Krogertsons (a former Grocery Palace I'm guessing by the layout no less) near the Houston Astrodome. Check out that horrific tile scar! In fact, the concrete almost looks rusty. I don't know what Kroger was thinking in allowing this to be seen by the public. I'll give you a link to this, but you may want to cover your eyes when you see this! Link: https://goo.gl/maps/CeQE9mbsyZkBuz4m8

    Fortunately, shoppers living near the Astrodome do have a good alternative. There is a Fiesta Mart there with 1980s neon decor. Like a lot of bigger Fiestas in somewhat more affluent areas, this Fiesta has a service bakery, deli with cold cuts, and sushi (I assume so, at least my local Fiesta has sushi at least). I'm sure you'll agree that this is far superior to that Krogertsons (not that Albertsons can be blamed for the poor shape of that store!): https://goo.gl/maps/euLpGr7iWu4WkWmE7

    Since I make you feel bad for having to see that Krogertsons, here's a Market Basket in East Texas in an old Albertsons that's absolutely still using Albertsons decor inside. Also, they still have Albertsons' outdoor signage, but they turned it red! It's a good opportunity to see what Albertsons would look like if they used red as their color instead of blue! Link: https://goo.gl/maps/JV3XZTB1tDiP1rTC7

    I know we've talked about this before, but I'm surprised most Hispanic-oriented grocers in Florida don't have bakeries even if this Bravo Fare does. The first El Rancho in Houston, El Rancho being the Hispanic grocer that Albertsons has a sizable investment in, has the bakery right at the entrance of the store in a tunnel format. The bakery is on the right, but then they have glass doors with several bakery racks on the left. It's very tempting and the smell is wonderful! Here are a couple of images of that:

    https://goo.gl/maps/xV7rHjNNfFoY7wBP8
    https://goo.gl/maps/XEq73RwrFz7pPDeG9

    I can't remember if I shared this with you or just NW Retail, but did you see the photo from the new Albertsons in El Paso, TX? It has Safeway Lifestyle v3 decor inside! I won't complain because I like Lifestyle v3, but it's a bit strange to see Safeway decor in an Albertsons even though I suppose it's a bit expected now. Link: https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/2021/04/02/albertsons-opening-eighth-el-paso-store-location-zaragoza-east-side/4840011001/

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    1. I’m liking Bravo Fare better, but that’s just me! At least those old signs from Albertsons match up with departments/services that Kroger offers, such as food and pharmacy. Bravo’s operating mission doesn’t correlate with those signs they left on the outside, which is just confusing! I also don’t understand Kroger’s obsession with ripping out the old floor tiles in stores where those tiles were neve meant to be ripped out. I know tile needs to be cleaned often, but that stained concrete though is not pleasant on the eye. The results of that haven’t been very pretty, although that old Albertsons by the Astrodome is quite horrific looking as far as the floors go!

      Those 1980’s Fiesta Mart stores are always fun to see, especially with all the neon. It’s nice to see Fiesta Mart leaving a lot of those stores alone, and even though the décor is a bit funky by today’s standards, the stores still look maintained. I really like that Grocery Palace Market Basket though. That’s looks like a fun store to visit, although from reading the blog, I’m sure you know I’m a sucker for anything Grocery Palace related!

      I really don’t understand why bakeries aren’t much of a thing in Floridian Hispanic grocery stores. Even at most other Bravo stores, the bakeries are usually limited to one shelf of bread and maybe some prepackaged pastries. It’s strange. Even Sedano’s and Presidente, the other really big Floridian Hispanic supermarket chains (though mostly confined to South Florida and Orlando) are the same way, with very limited baked goods.

      I believe you did share that new El Paso Albertsons with me before, as I remember saying it was strange seeing an Albertsons with Safeway’s Colorful Lifestyle décor in it. With Albertsons and Safeway being the same company, I guess it wasn’t long before some décor began to cross over between banners, but it’s still a strange sight. I think that décor does look good in there though.

      As for Albertsons Market, the original reason that existed was because of the split between Albertsons in 2006. While the SuperValu owned Albertsons stores remained Albertsons, eventually the Cerberus owned stores changed their name to “Albertsons Market” to avoid confusion – the Florida stores being part of that switch as well. The switch (at least in Florida) was more on paper and in advertising than anything, and when Albertsons was reunited, the Albertsons Market name somehow ended up with United for those stores in New Mexico and West Texas. In the present the Albertsons Market name is a bit pointless, as the store is just a plain old Albertsons in just about every way, but I guess since United is semi-autonomous from the rest of Albertsons, corporate wants to keep the distinction between the two brands.

      And it is strange seeing carpet in the Roswell Albertsons. Maybe the people of New Mexico just love carpeted supermarkets for some reason?!

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  2. Well you know that if you're posting a New York-based supermarket chain, the good ol' Market Report will come out of the woodwork to comment!

    I've been keeping an eye on this store as it's transitioned from Earth Fare to Bravo because I thought it was an oddly modern store for Bravo given that, as you say, most of Bravo's Florida locations are pretty out-of-date. I saw Google Maps photos, but that doesn't always tell the whole story, so I appreciate your tour and commentary on what's new and what's not. I must say that I think the end result is pretty pleasing, both in terms of appearance and (based on what you say and what I've read elsewhere) product mix and selection. Although I have to wonder why the nice folks who own the store refused to use the actual Bravo logo on the outside, both on the Coming Soon sign and the permanent one. Also, Bravo Markets? It's always Bravo Supermarkets or, with the full slogan, Bravo Supermarkets for Values on the other stores. Glad to see the real logo is inside.

    Bravo, as you probably know, is run by White Plains, NY-based Krasdale Foods. Krasdale supports about 200 independently-owned CTown and Bravo supermarkets in NY, NJ, PA, CT, and FL, and wholesales to several hundred more stores ranging from large supermarkets to corner bodegas and convenience stores. But Krasdale has been shrinking a bit lately it seems, and as I was writing this I had to stop myself from saying they had stores in MA or RI -- they lost their sole CTown in MA (Holyoke) to Key Food and their Bravo locations in Brockton, MA and Pawtucket, RI to America's Food Basket. Key Food and AFB have been expanding, and most notably acquiring Krasdale locations and owners. Key Food now has about 30 stores in Florida, most of which were previously Krasdale affiliated (and many were Bravo locations, such as Mount Dora, Ocala, Hollywood). America's Food Basket also now has locations in Dania Beach, Deerfield Beach, and Fort Lauderdale. Juan Diaz, who owns CTown and Bravo stores in eastern Pennsylvania, has decided for his two upcoming stores in Reading and Bethlehem, PA, they'll operate under America's Food Basket rather than Krasdale. That's not to say that the end is near for Krasdale, by any means, but they do have to keep an eye on other market players like Key Food and AFB, which combined represent about 350-400 independent supermarkets in NY, NJ, CT, MA, RI, PA, GA, and FL. (Not you, AFB. The other one.)

    And to the anonymous comment above about the new Albertsons decor -- that actually looks great! Are there other Albertsons-owned banners nearby? Here in Massachusetts, the Shaw's stores use Albertsons decor (I don't know if there's a name for it, but it's basically a variation on ACME's Quality Built) but the Star Market stores use a variation on the Safeway decor package. They want to keep the stores looking different because they have different positionings. Meanwhile, the latest Star Market store uses the same decor that I've seen in a Pavilions out west -- but there again, that decor package is used to separate Pavilions from the Safeway Lifestyle-type decor in Vons.

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    1. In regards to the El Paso, TX, I don't think Albertsons operates under any other banners in that area at least in modern times. Thus, I suppose they are free to use any of their decor packages in those stores. The situation is a bit more different in, say, the Dallas Metroplex since Albertsons has Tom Thumb stores from the Safeway umbrella and also their own Albertsons stores (in addition to El Rancho stores which are technically not under the Albertsons umbrella, but Albertsons has a sizable investment in El Rancho).

      The situation out west in Texas is a bit strange mostly due to Albertsons' purchase of the United Supermarkets chain 6-7 years ago. Albertsons stores in New Mexico are now operated by the United division and operate under the Albertsons Market name instead of just regular Albertsons. However, although El Paso is right by New Mexico, El Paso's Albertsons are just plain Albertsons. You might think that Albertsons Markets would have special decor, but really they just use the standard Albertsons decor packages. The most recently renovated ones seem to use what I believe is called the Albertsons Legacy decor package.

      I did find a very odd Albertsons Market in Roswell, NM. It seems Albertsons recently acquired this location from an independent grocer operating under the IGA name, but maybe it was a Lowe's Market before that because a large part of this store appears to be carpeted! Carpeted stores is something Lowe's Market is known for. But, yeah, if you ever want to see a carpeted Albertsons, here it is! Link: https://goo.gl/maps/W5ZWEzqiZKphSuRw7

      I did check all of El Paso's other Albertsons stores and it seems that almost all of them now have Safeway's Lifestyle v3 decor package. While it is a bit odd to me that they are using a Safeway decor package, I suppose it isn't all that strange since most shoppers there will probably not see a Safeway/Randall's/Tom Thumb using that decor package since it's so far from other Safeways. I know NW Retail isn't a fan of Lifestyle v3, but I think it looks really good and the bright colors of it are great compared to the dull, drab colors of so many other modern supermarkets. We have a couple of Randall's locations here in Houston with Lifestyle v3, but certainly Lifestyle v2, which I also like, is the dominant decor package being used here.

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    2. Glad you liked my coverage of this store! Even with the combining of two different décor packages, it all came together well in the end. I actually thought the logos on the front of the building were something new Bravo was trying, which is why I didn’t think anything of it at the time. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a new Bravo open, so I just thought it was some kind of update I hadn’t seen yet. Thanks for clarifying it’s an anomaly.

      I’ve noticed a number of Bravo stores around here have switched over to the Key Foods name, but I didn’t realize there were now 30 Key Foods stores here. I have photos of two of those Key Foods stores in my archives, however, both sets were taken when those stores were Bravo (although looking at after pictures, it doesn’t seem much changed after the conversions besides a few logo swaps). Interesting you mention America’s Food Basket too – I accidently stumbled across their Dania Beach store on Google Maps recently, which looks to have opened not too long ago. It looks pretty nice, and it was quite big too.

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  3. Besides a new occupant keeping the old décor totally intact, I'd have to say that this mash-up version of things is the next coolest thing to find in a supermarket conversion. "Bravo" to Bravo! Like you said, this does seem like a bit of an unusual location for them to open in, so hopefully they are liked by the locals and successful here. I'm especially glad they left the meat and seafood décor alone -- I think that's my favorite out of all of Earth Fare's stuff. (If only Winn-Dixie would keep that paneling too in the stores they've taken over, and add back that old "The Beef People" neon, haha!)

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    1. I’m always intrigued by a good supermarket conversion, especially in situations like this where it’s an interesting blend of old and new going on. The two different packaged mashed together well here, I have to say, and combination isn’t jarring. I’m surprised Sprouts, Publix, or Winn-Dixie didn’t want this store in the auction, as Lake Nona would have been prime for another organic store like Sprouts or Greenwise, or as fill-in for Winn-Dixie (as like Viera and Lakewood Ranch, Lake Nona is a newer suburb W-D never touched during the 15 years they were hardly opening new stores). Hopefully Bravo finds a niche here, and they stick around for a while. And yes, it’s a shame the folks at Winn-Dixie weren’t as inspired by that shiny meat and seafood décor paneling like I was!

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  4. Earth Fare reopened its Orlando location on 9 W Gore Street south of Downtown Orlando. Aside from the grand opening day event, which I attended, it unfortunately looks like business is just as slow as it was before their sudden closure pre-COVID. I've usually gone on Sundays between 12:00pm-2:00pm, and it's virtually empty. I know that the Walmart Neighborhood Market, huge Publix, and Super Target nearby are unbearably crowded. Publix is opening a store across the street from itself in the old Lucky's space.

    I've gone there once a week for things like whole bean coffee (an area in which they outshine every grocer), prepared foods, and a few things that may be on sale, and I hope this store can stick around. The specialty stores in Orlando tend to cluster in Winter Park and Dr. Phillips. Even Amazon plans to open its first area store in one of those two areas. So this community needs to step up and patronize Earth Fare if they want places like Whole Foods and Trader Joe's to consider the area.

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    1. I saw the Gore Street store reopened, and from what I can tell, it seems like new Earth Fare kept everything the same from the old Earth Fare as far as services and product selection are concerned (although since you’ve been there since the reopening, you can probably shed more light on how true that is). Unlike Lucky’s (which always seemed to draw a crowd), Earth Fare never seemed to draw the same fan base, as my local Earth Fare was much slower than the local Lucky’s was. I’m surprised in such a busy area like downtown Orlando, Earth Fare is pretty dead, especially since it’s the only store of its kind in that neighborhood now that Lucky’s is gone. I’ve heard conflicting things on the new Publix in the old Lucky’s though. I’ve had some people tell me it will become a Greenwise, and some say it’s going to be a tiny regular Publix to serve as overflow for the store next door. I don’t know which is true, but I’d rather see the old Lucky’s become a Greenwise than a redundant regular Publix.

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    2. The Publix at Plaza Ecco on South Orange Avenue (former Lucky's) will be a redundant Publix, but with some pieces from the Greenwise concept.

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    3. Oh no, I heard the Neptune Beach Lucky's will do the same thing, the Publix not far from it ALREADY replaced an older store less than a decade ago, it's pretty stupid having 2 cookie cutter Publixs right across each other, even worse than two stores right across each other. Also East Cobb is getting an overflow Publix too for #155 (which like #536 got a huge remodel in 2011) probably in the old Kmart -_-.

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  5. Wow!! Never saw a clean Bravo before. The two I know of here in the Tampa area were I believe both U-Save. I guess it depends on the operator. I guess the Tampa operator is making money by NOT REMODELING. I would not recommend shopping at Bravo. I think their slogan is: Bravo, where shopping is NEVER a pleasure...😀

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    1. I don't think 2 stores can have similar slogans cause that Bravo slogan sounds a bit like Publix's.

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    2. No, I wrote Bravo's slogan... One of the Bravo stores here looked like the floor hasn't been cleaned for a decade. I don't go in it, Bravo stores decor here should be Early Ruins... 😀

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