Fresh from the Orchard- Until the Orchard Closes

     It has been over a year now since the lone Orchard Fresh concept store closed. Although the plan was to roll out the concept across other areas in Western New York, only one store ever came into existence in the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park. Having opened in 2013, Orchard Fresh was an experimental concept store for Tops that would emphasize fresh foods and push itself into organic foods. At the time, Whole Foods didn't have a store anywhere in the Buffalo market.

    From what I understood, the biggest reason for its closure came because it was a cash drain on the company. Its location also likely played a factor- as there really was no other major brand in the shopping center it was in. Regardless, Tops experimented with a lot of concepts that made their debut at this location and would ultimately use these concepts as part of future remodels across the regular stores. So it wasn't a total loss. 

     I did like the decor package that the store used and some of these decor elements have since found their way into regular Tops stores.  I stopped into the lone Orchard Fresh in 2018 for a visit and found it to be nice, but too expensive. (Though to be fair, I can see now that price for organics can be high.)