Family grocery produces third location

SARASOTA — Detwiler's Farm Market, a locally owned family-run grocery store, is opening a third location, in an empty former Sweetbay Supermarket.

The new Detwiler's, according to a release, will be in the Parkway Collection Shopping Center, on the Sarasota side of University Parkway at North Lockwood Ridge Road. The 44,655-square-foot store, which will include space for Miller's Dutch Haus Furniture, is expected to open Dec. 1. Other Detwiler's locations are on Palmer Boulevard in Sarasota and in Venice, off the U.S. 41 Bypass South.

“As a local family, we are extremely excited to grow our business while continuing to support the greater Sarasota community,” Detwiler's founder Henry Detwiler says in the release.

The new store is also a boost to the shopping center, where the former Sweetbay space has been empty since 2009. The center, at a high-traffic intersection, has several restaurants and shops, in addition to an eight-screen discount movie theater. Sarasota entrepreneur Piero Rivolta, who represents the managing partner of the center, says Detwiler's was the first right fit for the space after numerous negotiations with other potential tenants regarding the space.

“Detwiler's offers a unique experience in food shopping with a very personal touch,” Rivolta says in the statement. “Most importantly, it is a trusted business owned by a local family.”