It’s a grocery store that doesn’t rely heavily on advertising. They’re not on TV or in the mailbox. Yet Central Market in Mill Creek Town Center has a loyal following of weekly shoppers that come from all over Snohomish County. Word-of-mouth has been Central Market’s secret weapon to get customers in the door.
But ask store director Jim Huffman what it is that actually attracts these customers and he has to pause before answering. Because for Huffman and others that work at Central Market, there is nothing special or unusual in what they do. It’s the way they believe a store should be run.
“It really comes down to our people,” Huffman said. “It’s about our employees really listening to our customers.”
And they do listen. Central Market was offering more natural and organic products and more locally produced products before it became a market trend simply by responding to the customer requests. But they’re not to be confused with a health food store or natural market either.
The goods at Central Market are global. It’s a paradise for foodies yet also a place for the average American family to do their weekly shopping too. Central Market prides itself on offering a wide variety and most of this seems to come with a little Pacific Northwest flavor.
The store, from its architecture to its products, reflects the Pacific Northwest where the family-owned parent company was founded. It began as Town &Country Market on Bainbridge Island in 1957.
Now the organization has six stores. In addition to the original Bainbridge operation, there are Ballard Market and Greenwood Market in Seattle and Central Markets in Poulsbo, Shoreline and Mill Creek.
“The Central Market format came up in 1995 in Poulsbo,” Huffman said. He was an original employee of the Central Market in Shoreline before coming on board with this newest Mill Creek location.
It was at the Shoreline store that the company first identified a niche that would set them apart from much of the competition — an international focus.
Huffman explained, “When we opened up Shoreline, we realized that, demographically speaking, there was a larger Asian community there. There is also a lot of Asian influence in Pacific Northwest cuisine.”
In fact, the extensive “Asian Market” area of the store was so successful that the feature was added on to the existing Poulsbo store and built into the new Mill Creek location before it opened.
This isn’t just an aisle of standard soy sauce and prepackaged noodles. Central Market went all out with 44 feet of fresh refrigerated Asian products, an aisle of frozen Asian foods, Japanese bakery products and a premium-quality sushi bar. As for the soy sauce, there are more than 50 varieties to choose from. For shoppers that aren’t sure what they want or need, there are employees able to assist.
Other notable features of Central Market include a full service fishmonger and butcher. The large well-manned counters are somewhere that customers can get fresh cuts to their specifications at no additional charge.
Fish deliveries are seven days-a-week and the array is extensive, varying with what is fresh and in season. There are also value-priced frozen offerings in self-service bulk bins. Dungeness crab is cooked fresh on-site daily and cleaned at no charge.
“We have real fishmongers that really know fish,” Huffman said. “The managers get to choose the quality of what comes in our doors.”
Over in the Meat Market, butchers don’t blink an eye if customers ask for three strips of bacon or a quarter pound of hamburger. Those three strips of bacon can go along side two or three eggs. Central Market allows shoppers to buy eggs in bulk — just one or two, a dozen or a whole flat. Bulk eggs come in both white and brown.
They’re used to single shoppers that don’t want to buy an entire package when they just want one serving.
“The spice wall is for those people who don’t want to spend a lot on a whole bottle of some spice they may never use again,” Huffman said. Located in the bulk foods section, customers measure out just what they need for a recipe.
The deli has a soup and salad bar but also an entrée bar with a variety of choices including Indian cuisine. There are heat-and-eat meals, ready to grab and go. The antipasto bar has fresh mozzarella and feta cheeses, many different kinds of olives and marinated peppers.
Desserts in the bakery range from opulent petit fours to old fashioned pie. Artisan breads are very popular but shoppers can still get a standard white loaf too. They also cater to gluten-intolerant customers and provide a free online shopping guide as well as a wide array of gluten-free products.
An extensive wine and beer area even has wine stewards to assist with selections.
But something that Central Market’s employees are very good about is offering their expertise in a way that is not intimidating.
“We’re not telling people how to shop,” Huffman said. “We just want to offer them a product mix that allows them to experiment if they want to.”
More information about Central Market in Mill Creek Town Center is online at http://millcreek.central-market.com Customers are also able to sign up for email newsletters and product specials.
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