Upscale grocer opens doors in Flower Mound

It’s been eight years in the making, but an upscale grocer’s persistence has paid off for area shoppers.

Officials from Flower Mound and United Supermarkets cut the ribbon Wednesday on the Lubbock-based company’s newest Market Street grocery store at the northeast corner of FM 2499 and FM 1171 in the River Walk at Central Park.

The 55,000-square-foot store opened for business following the 8:30 a.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony, which featured the presentation of checks for $10,000 each to Toys for Tots and Tarrant Area Food Bank.

Market Street originally wanted to build a store at that location five years ago, but environmental concerns from town leaders stalled the project.

The Flower Mound location is under the direction of general manager Shannon Nix, who previously spent five years managing a United location in Abilene and has been with the company for 18 years.

Store hours will be 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week.

It is the second new store for the company this year. United opened a “next generation” Market Street location in Lubbock in early January, and the Flower Mound store is similar to that one in layout and décor.

“This new store has a totally new look and feel from our other Dallas-Fort Worth stores,” said Wes Jackson, chief merchandising officer for United Supermarkets. “The most significant difference is in the merchandise presentation. We’ve done a lot of things to create destination points throughout the store, so that guests will feel like they are moving from one department to another as they shop.”

While other DFW Market Street locations have two entrances, the Flower Mound store has a single entrance and a separate exit, which bears a smaller canopy on the exterior. “The exit is near the check stands, and the intent is to encourage guests to enter one door and exit the other in order to enhance traffic flow,” explained Tony Crumpton, executive vice president of facilities, fuel and supply for United Supermarkets, LLC.

Once inside, shoppers will immediately notice a “Texas Fresh” produce department at the front of the store.

“Guests will walk into ‘fresh’ the minute they enter the store – produce straight ahead and floral to the left,” Jackson said. “The produce department will include literally hundreds of organic and locally grown fruits and vegetables, which our guests are asking for more and more.”

Shoppers also will notice new shelf tags featuring “healthy attributes” that identify products in 10 different categories, such as low-sodium, heart-healthy, organic, and gluten-free, as well as the company’s “Dietitian’s Top Pick” program.

Shelf tags also will include the NuVal Nutritional Scoring System, which rates the nutritional value of foods throughout the store on a scale of 1 to 100. 

United was the first supermarket chain in Texas to adopt the NuVal system.

Other features for the health-conscious include “Heart-Healthy Shopping Guides” to assist with meal planning, an expanded line of health supplements and services, “Shop with Our Dietitian” store tours, and an expanded selection of gluten-free products.

“The variety of organic, natural, specialty, body care and supplements that we offer in our Flower Mound store is the very best in our company,” Jackson said. “Guests will see many products that you don’t typically find in a supermarket.”

The dining area to the right of the entrance includes indoor/outdoor seating for more than 275, an outdoor children’s playground, and a “Libations” bar offering beer and wine service by the glass.

Much of the exterior dining space will be enclosable using collapsible, accordion-style windows and heating capabilities to allow for year-round outdoor seating.

“We believe it will provide a dining experience that matches our restaurant-quality food offerings,” said Kurt McMillan, regional vice president of United Supermarkets, LLC. “We hope the playground area will become another city park for the Flower Mound community – it is a truly unique, beautiful setting.”

Other noticeable differences in the store are the result of requests from Market Street shoppers.

“This store will be a reflection of many of the things we have heard from our guests, in an effort to be a more complete one-stop-shopping experience,” Jackson said.