Vero Beach grocery store expands to downtown Fort Pierce with deli and restaurant
A new grocery store is opening in downtown Fort Pierce in the same space where another one failed last year.
But the owner said he has the experience to make this one successful.
Village Beach Market is expected to open by the end of July in the historic building at 111 Orange Ave., said owner Jason Keen, who runs the business with his wife, Vanessa. It's on the first floor of The One Eleven Building, which opened as the St. Lucie Bank in 1922, with the main entrance on Orange Avenue.
It's where the former Fort Pierce Trader’s Market closed in February 2022 after just seven months.
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Keen is expanding his family's longtime grocery store business that's on the barrier island in Vero Beach. They started Village Beach Market in 1980, and he took over after his father, Jerry, died in 2019.
“It’s something we’ve been doing for a long time,” Keen said. “I felt like that has prepared me to take this next step of faith to open this store and continue to grow and expand.”
New restaurant offers convenience
The 8,000-square-foot space will be part grocery store and part restaurant with about 30 seats, Keen said, but he expects most of the business to be done on the cafe side.
He plans to be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday for breakfast, lunch and dinner. He’ll offer takeout options with prepared items available for grab-and-go near the entrance.
“We’re not going strictly all-healthy,” Keen said, referring to the former Trader's Market. “In our research, we found their concept was mostly all natural and organic, which is great and fits a niche. But I think it’s too tight of a niche for this area, and most people complained that they wanted to be able to get other items.”
The restaurant’s deli area will be a combination of build-your-own tacos like Moe’s or Chipotle, fresh subs like Jersey Mike’s, and fresh salads like Panera. It also will have fresh pizzas, hamburgers, ice cream and milkshakes. Other features include a crushed ice machine, a charcuterie case and Beluga caviar.
The grocery store will carry a lot of the same unique products as the previous market did, but it also will have a mix of common items.
“This is a nice, central store where they can get what they need,” Keen said. “We hope to be another great place that people can choose if they want something quick.”
Fort Pierce costs less than Vero Beach
Throughout the years, being on Vero Beach's barrier island protected the mom-and-pop shop from the big competitors on the mainland, Keen said. Island residents are his main customers.
Being in downtown Fort Pierce is more about convenience for people who work there and residents and visitors who go there for shows at the Sunrise Theatre, the weekly Downtown Fort Pierce Farmers’ Market and other events.
“Most of the people probably still will shop at the other stores for their staples,” Keen said, “but more people are wanting to get out and experience smaller stores — family owned and operated stores.”
Some people call the Vero Beach store "Tiffany’s” because of its high prices, Keen said, explaining he has to charge more because of the higher operating costs on the beach, including higher insurance and more seasonality.
The Fort Pierce store won’t have the same issues, Keen said, so prices will be lower. He said prices on certain items will be comparable to Publix or Whole Foods Market, but not Aldi or Walmart.
“We can’t compete on price because we can’t buy products at the same price as the big people,” Keen said. “But we can provide that personal attention as much as we can, so people don’t feel like they’re just a number.”
New grocery store fits downtown Fort Pierce
A mutual vendor approached Keen to help save Trader's Market, but he didn’t want to keep the brand or disparage the owners’ efforts. He said they were overwhelmed and understaffed.
“I have huge respect for all the people that tried before, because I know what it takes to do something like this,” Keen said.
He acknowledged the challenge in opening a small, local grocery store to compete against big businesses nearby, such as Aldi (just over a mile away), Publix (about 2 miles away) and Walmart (less than 5 miles away).
He initially debated whether the location would be a good fit for his brand.
“This is out of our market,” Keen said. “It’s a downtown environment. Parking is very limited.”
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But after spending time downtown and running the numbers, he found there was a lot of traffic. Now he’s excited to be part of the community.
“Fort Pierce has done an exceptional job in really creating a nice downtown environment,” Keen said. “It’s more of a destination place for people to come.”
Laurie K. Blandford is TCPalm's entertainment reporter and columnist dedicated to finding the best things to do on the Treasure Coast. Follow her on Twitter @TCPalmLaurie and Facebook @TCPalmLaurie. Email her at laurie.blandford@tcpalm.com. Sign up for her What To Do in 772 weekly newsletter at profile.tcpalm.com/newsletters/manage.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Village Beach Market in Vero Beach opens downtown Fort Pierce grocery
