New Dave’s Market to open in Valley Grande after four years of planning

After four years of planning and construction, the new Dave’s Market in Valley Grande is scheduled to open on Thursday, Sept. 19.

Owner Dave Oliver said the old store will close Wednesday, and the new store will open at the newly constructed shopping center about a mile south on Highway 22 the next day. And with a more spacious store and parking lot, when you bump into your friends at Dave’s, it will no longer be in the literal sense.

The first improvements shoppers will notice is a larger parking lot, Oliver said. The new lot has 102 parking places, and the lanes are wider. Traffic will be directed in a logical flow pattern to prevent bottlenecks, he said.

The next thing shoppers will see is a warm and inviting storefront. Oliver said he took a page from the Cracker Barrel playbook.

“When you go to Cracker Barrel, you feel welcome when you walk on the porch,” Oliver said. “That’s what we want here.”

When you walk in the new store, you notice right away how much space there is. The store is 35,000 square feet, but it’s designed to be comfortable and warm. “We wanted a farmer’s market look that says welcome,” Oliver said.

More from this section

Second killing in Minneapolis by US federal agents sparks uproar

Yamamoto joins Ohtani in Japan's World Baseball Classic squad

EU, India agree 'mother of all' trade deals

“The aisles are twice as long as the old store, and almost twice as wide as the old store,” Oliver said. And he’s filling the larger building with more selection.

“We’re going to expand produce and meat,” Oliver said. Some of the meats Dave’s will be carrying are elk, bison, venison and new fish items, he said.

“We tried to make it different but shoppable,” Oliver said.

Oliver said he’s excited to open the new store, especially because construction was paused because of shortages of labor and equipment during the COVID epidemic. Work on the lot began in 2020.

Oliver said there will be a big grand opening and ribbon cutting on Oct. 7. George “G-man” Henry will host a live remote on Dixie Country, and there will be plenty of hot dogs, hamburgers and giveaways. Oliver said there will be in-store specials that day, too.