Summer 1995: Bill Clinton is president; Steffi Graf and Pete Sampras win Wimbledon; Jerry Garcia plays his last concert with the Grateful Dead; Bill Gates becomes the richest man on Earth with a net worth of “only” 12.9 billion dollars; and Harvest Market opens its doors for the first time in Hockessin, Delaware.
Opening with a staff of only two, Harvest Market has grown in the subsequent 28 years to become one of Hockessin’s largest employers—with a staff of more than sixty at its location on Lancaster Pike, according to founder and CEO Bob Kleszics.
As Hockessin’s second largest grocer, Harvest Market packs an impressive selection of products in its relatively modest storefront—offering a full range of organically grown, naturally produced or locally sourced fresh produce, meats, dairy, pantry staples, nutritional supplements, body care items and household supplies.
It is Harvest Market’s on-site, prepared foods kitchen that really sets it apart from similar smaller-format grocers, however. Their Green Restaurant Association certified, 3-Star kitchen prepares a variety of grab-and-go entrees, soups, salads, sandwiches, side dishes, nori rolls, baked goods and desserts on a daily basis—using the same high-quality ingredients sold on the store’s shelves. Some of the kitchen’s best-selling items include four kinds of Chicken Salad, Quiches available with either a wheat or gluten-free-crusts, Chicken and Wild rice Soup, Southwest Quinoa Salad, vegetarian Hoppin’ John Burgers, Pesto Caprese Baguette sandwiches, Simply Grilled Chicken and Almond Coconut Squares.
Harvest Market has been the recipient of more than a dozen Best of Delaware awards over the years as well as two recent Top Workplace awards from the Wilmington News Journal. Earlier this year Harvest Market was also named as one of 25 “Outstanding Independents” nationally by Progressive Grocer magazine, which highlighted the Hockessin community grocer’s outstanding customer service which they noted is “focused on taking care of customers from the moment they walk through the door.”
“We are incredibly grateful for the support we have had from our community for these last 28 years,” says Kleszics. “Every day we open our doors wanting to do the very best we can, both for our shoppers and each other.”
