Natural grocery store to hire 130 people

LAKEWOOD RANCH — Organic and natural foods grocery store Earth Fare announced it will hire 130 people for its new Lakewood Ranch store.

The company will fill both full-time and part-time positions. A job fair for interested applicants started Jan. 4 and will continue through Jan. 6.

The Lakewood Ranch store will be the eighth Florida location for Earth Fare, according to a press release. It is expected to open in winter 2018.

The 23,500-square-foot store will be at The Green at Lakewood Ranch, a 525,000-square-foot mixed-use development. The Green is within the Collaboration Opportunities for Research and Exploration project in Lakewood Ranch, a project known as CORE. Earth Fare and LA Fitness will anchor The Green, a statement says.

Earth Fare was founded in 1975 in Asheville, N.C. It has 45 locations in 10 U.S. states in the Southeast, mid-Atlantic and Midwest.