Fresh Thyme Farmers Market to Open at Kimco's North West Square in Columbus, Ohio

NEW HYDE PARK, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Kimco Realty Corp. KIM, the nation's largest publicly-traded owner and operator of neighborhood and community shopping centers, today announced that Fresh Thyme Farmers Market will open its first Ohio storefront on August 13 at Kimco's North West Square shopping center, located at 6670 Sawmill Road in Columbus, Ohio.

Fresh Thyme's grand opening will commence at 6:45 a.m. on August 13 with a ceremonial ribbon cutting, with doors opening at 7 a.m. Representatives of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce will attend to welcome the popular specialty grocer to the region. Throughout opening day, Fresh Thyme will host family-friendly events for local shoppers, including food sampling, face painting, balloon animals and other children's entertainment. The grocer will offer additional activities and promotions throughout the week.

The Phoenix-based Fresh Thyme Farmers Market, founded in 2012, specializes in providing consumers healthy, fresh, and organic products at affordable prices. The grocer will occupy a 28,000-square-foot space at North West Square in the former Borders bookstore location, and joins Pier 1 Imports in anchoring the 113,000-square-foot shopping center.

Rob Nadler, president of Kimco's Central Region, commented on the value that this new tenant brings to North West Square, saying, “Fresh Thyme meets the growing demand of our shoppers for natural, healthy and locally-sourced groceries. This popular organic market will be a strong addition to the center.”

“Fresh Thyme plans to open 60 stores in the Midwest by 2019,” said Fresh Thyme Farmers Market CEO, Chris Sherrell. “The Columbus/Dublin community is a great fit for our concept because of their desire to live a healthy lifestyle and their appreciation for natural and organic food. We are looking forward to meeting our new neighbors.”

Speaking about working with Kimco, Sherrell added, “Since Kimco is the country's largest community shopping center owner, it was an easy fit for some of our new locations. We recently successfully launched a Fresh Thyme store at Kimco's Greenwood Shopping Center in Indiana, and plan to open another store at their Fairview City Center in Illinois this winter.”

About Kimco

Kimco Realty Corp. KIM is a real estate investment trust (REIT) headquartered in New Hyde Park, New York, that owns and operates North America's largest portfolio of neighborhood and community shopping centers. As of June 30, 2014, the company owned interests in 840 shopping centers comprising 121 million square feet of leasable space across 41 states, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico and South America. Publicly traded on the NYSE since 1991, and included in the S&P 500 Index, the company has specialized in shopping center acquisitions, development and management for more than 50 years. For further information, please visit http://www.kimcorealty.com, the company's blog at blog.kimcorealty.com, or follow Kimco on Twitter at www.twitter.com/kimcorealty.

About Fresh Thyme

Fresh Thyme Farmers Market is a new full-service specialty retailer focusing on fresh, healthy, natural and organic offerings, all at amazing values. The store's signature offering is an extensive produce department with organic and local fruits and vegetables. In addition, Fresh Thyme's full-service offerings include a natural meat department, healthy deli foods to go, bakery goods, 400 bulk food bins, natural and organic groceries, dairy and frozen, as well as vitamins and body care products. Fresh Thyme is offering a NEW shopping experience to the Midwest and is scheduled to open a total of 60 stores by 2019. You can learn more by visiting freshthyme.com, and be sure to keep in touch by liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20140811005887/en/