Natural Grocers will open its first Minnesota store on Tuesday, Sept. 15. The store is located at 1507 Greenview Drive SW in Rochester and will officially open at 8 a.m.
As part the grand opening, Natural Grocers will have a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 7:55 a.m. and will then distribute mystery gift cards to the first 60 customers in line. Gift cards will be in the amount of $5, $10, $25, $50 and $100. Customers won’t know the amount of their gift card until they check out. The store will offer a tasting of healthy food from its Paleo Wraps class.
There also will be other food tastings, as well as cooking demonstrations and nutrition classes with nutrition experts as part of the store’s opening festivities. All activities will take place from noon-4 p.m. on the following dates:
• Saturday, Sept. 19: Taste the Difference Food Standards Make: A Nature-Inspired Tasting Fair and Health Expo
• Saturday, Sept. 26: Gluten-Free Tasting Expo and Health Fair
• Saturday, Oct. 3: Active Lifestyle Health Fair
• Saturday, Oct. 10: Paleo Fair: Primal Eating for Optimal Health
Colorado-based Natural Grocers says it will provide the Rochester community with fresh produce that is exclusively USDA Certified Organic, as well as other healthy, affordable, organic and natural products. The store will feature a mix of national brands and locally-grown, raised and manufactured products from Minnesota in a small, neighborhood market environment. The Rochester store also will feature a nutritional health coach and offer free nutrition education classes to the public. Natural Grocers Rochester will be open seven days a week.
Natural Grocers continues to expand. The Rochester location is one of 17 Natural Grocers stores expected to open in fiscal year 2015. The company currently operates about 100 stores in 17 states.
