Fresh Fare King Soopers

I’ve driven by Fresh Fare many times before finally stopping in today. Being a habitual shopper at the nearby Whole Foods, I was curious if this concept by King Soopers could really provide better value while maintaining the quality and selection of Whole Foods. In short, I think Fresh Fare is about 90% there.
The Good:
–The produce section offers a very large selection of organic fruits and vegetables, all beautifully fresh and many grown in Colorado. In fact, Fresh Fare has more local produce than Whole Foods. Prices are also significantly lower across the board.
–Murray’s Cheese Shop is on-​par with the selection offered at Whole Foods, again at slightly lower prices.
–The small but well-​curated bulk section has a majority of the dry items (rice, quinoa, etc.) that you find at Whole Foods; what’s omitted is a wider selection of bulk snack-​mixes and such, most of which I don’t buy regularly anyways.
–Almost all of the regular grocery items that I buy at Whole Foods are carried at Fresh Fare; negligible price differences, but pennies add up in the long run. This store also has a large selection of Kroger’s house-​brand organic label, SimpleTruth Organic, which seems to be pretty comparable to the 365 Organic brand (albeit slightly cheaper).
–Meat and seafood seem to be of decent quality. The seafood selection is smaller, but you’ll find the mainstays (Norwegian salmon, tilapia, pacific cod, rainbow trout, etc.) There were some whole fish in the case, too, all of which had clear eyes, so it would seem the fish is pretty fresh. I didn’t get to talk to the meat guy for too long (he was all by himself and pretty busy), but I saw a sign that said they can custom cut meat to order. Not a lot of stores are equipped to do this these days (other than Whole Foods), so bonus points for that.
–The deli makes in-​house roasted turkey breast! One of the big things I love about Whole Foods is that they roast lunch meat in-​house. It tastes so much better than commercial lunch meat. Fresh Fare does this as well!
The Meh:
–No Morning Fresh milk; I’ve rarely seen Morning Fresh this far south (they are based near Fort Collins), so I can’t fault Fresh Fare too hard for this, but that means I can’t truly use Fresh Fare as a «one-​stop» shop. Fortunately, Whole Foods is one the way home.
–Store layout is a little weird. The north-​most quarter of the store contains produce, cheese, deli, and aisles 1 – 2 (which is where all of the «natural» items are). The rest of the store is essentially a standard King Soopers. What makes it weird is that all of the «natural» stuff is all confined in that one area. For example, if you want salad dressing, there’s a selection of salad dressing in the «natural» aisle, and another selection of salad dressing in one of the other aisles. Boulder Chips are in the «natural» aisle, and Lay’s are on the other side of the store. This would make comparison shopping pretty daunting, since you would have to constantly walk back and forth to compare items.
In Summary:
I think Fresh Fare does a pretty good job of offering better value than Whole Foods without sacrificing quality. I was able to get just about everything there, and even with the extra trip to Whole Foods to get the items I couldn’t find at Fresh Fare, the money I saved at Fresh Fare was very worth it. Even if you’re a very discerning shopper like me, I think you will be pleased.

I’m a big fan of this King Soopers! Yes, it has its Fresh Fare, Bulk Section, Healthy & Organic Section… But what I love most is it is a «No Nonsense» Grocery Store!
What do I mean by «No Nonsense»? Well, in most grocery stores you have to weave yourself in and out of the aisles, get side-​tracked by «so-​called» deals/​bargains and end up with all these food/​items you didn’t need in the first place.
Look, I’m a busy gal. I have a family to feed. I’m on a budget. I usually have my grocery list in hand and boom I go in … And I’m out.
Thank You King Soopers Fresh Fare… for making it easier to shop!

Love this store & location. Close to home & very clean. The staff is helpful & friendly & they always have what we need. Would definitely return.

They have a great cheese, preserves section, deli and meat counters. Better than the one near me in Aurora. Be sure to check out the free item Fridays and download the coupon app.

I love my King Soopers! I call it my King Soopers because it’s about two blocks away from home for me. Living in Colorado I’ve been to quite a few King Soopers over the years and so far this one is the best (in my opinion). It is one of the newest locations, too. It’s only been open for about 2 years now. It’s not a large store, but it has the three things that a good supermarket needs to thrive: selection, low prices and fresh sushi! They have a vast produce department, a deli, and lots of cheese (that they’ll let you sample too)! The customer service is impeccable. Everyone is so nice and helpful. The store is always clean and really vibrant in color. Makes me never want to move, because then I’ll lose My King Soopers!

This store is huge in a vertical sense. The layout of this King Sooper’s feels more like a Whole Foods. Gourmet deli, chocolates and olive bar. I like it.

Far from being Whole Foods. People had mentioned that this King Soopers has more organic and natural products, so I stopped in to try. First, the local Safeway (on Downing and Evans) has more organic and natural products than this location does. Secondly, their customer service was disappointing. I walked through the dairy dept. looking for eggs but couldn’t find them. While I was in the meat dept. I turned to the butcher who was restocking and asked «Where are the eggs?» He didn’t stop what he was doing and retorted «Eggs are always in the dairy dept.» (Side note: I went back to search again and they are in a middle console hidden behind a «butter» sign). I felt like the store was disorganized and it was hard to push my cart through the produce dept. I won’t be going back.

This review is for the Starbucks — I’ve never been to one worse. Slow service, incompetent staff, and even though they claim to offer digital rewards but if you try to claim a free drink they will pretend to not know how to honor it. Love the way Starbucks does business, they need to eliminate this one though as it’s dragging down their brand.

The hidden secret here is the floral department. In addition to the classics, there are tropicals such as orchids, leucadendrons, protea… plus I think their floral prices are very favorable! The ladies are so happy to help with special requests, and have even helped me buy ‘old’ stock to fill out and meet my party budget. Win/​win!
The selection is a little limited due to the smallish size of the store, but they have the right stuff… a peanut butter grinder, a great gluten free section, a fabulous cheese shop… wonderful gourmet bakery items, local Hammond candies and a nice selection of sea salts and organic produce. I wish the meat section had a little more selection of lamb (shank, roasts, frenched), for example.
The staff are across the board friendly!

I love this King Soopers. It’s brand new, tall ceilings, and a great high end selection.
This «Fresh Fare» concept is meant to compete with Whole Foods. It is nice, but it nice, but not as nice as a big While Foods.
Also know, this is a small store, consequently they do not have everything a King Soopers will have.

New grocery store, close to our home. Why don’t we shop here more often? Their grocery selection is more limited that the usual KS, although the deli is expanded. To me the name implies the «fare» here is more «fresh» than at other KS stores, but that is not true as far as I can tell. I have bought several salumi meats here, and it has sometimes been a struggle to get them sliced in the store. Deli items are sometimes good, other times just ok. This is an example of a good grocery chain store trying to masquerade as a gourmet store like Tony’s. Overall, it is just ok.

The pharmacy service is why I have been going back. I have always shopped at the Greenwood village pharmacy on Yosemite unfortunately they have to be the absolute worst in getting a timely prescription.
Fresh fare pharmacy is separate from the main building like a little compound pharmacy no lines no grumpy people working there its well work the extra 5 miles in driving for me.
Deli is great and great customer service.

Whether you like this store or not will depend on what you’re looking for. If you’re just looking for a King Soopers, newly built, in this location– you may or may not be disappointed. As a Fresh Fare outlet, the store has a difference in selection. The produce section is smaller and mostly organic. The Deli section is smaller and all Boar’s Head. I’m really at a loss at how many stars to give it, because if that’s what you’re looking for, it’s great.
–Smaller market
–Smaller selection catering to organic/​local
–Clean, pretty, etc.

Ok, this is probably the best King Soopers I’ve ever been to. A fancy King Soopers, if you will. They have a much wider variety of natural and organic foods than other King Soopers, and a better selection of produce and fresh «to-​go» dinners and sides. The cashier was super friendly and to top it off, they got someone out in the parking lot to take your cart away from you when you’re done putting away your groceries.
If only all King Soopers were this nice!

While the Fresh Fare concept may be new to Colorado, it’s not new to me. I lived across the street from one of the first Fresh Fares, a Ralph’s in Santa Barbara.
I think quite a few people who had never been to one expected too much from this concept. Hence the 3.5 star average rating.
That said, it is 3 stars, even when compared to other Fresh Fares. What I liked about this location is even though it’s smaller than your average grocery store, it feels more open than I’d expect. And while the parking lot is small, it wasn’t crowded. We were able to get a spot next to the door.
What disappointed me, was the lack of selection of prepared foods. This is where the Fresh Fare concept is supposed to shine and this location lacked. Additionally, the baked goods weren’t that different from any other King Soopers, and they are supposed to be a bit nicer.
If you live or work in the area it’s certainly a nice option. However I do not, so I’m not sure I’ll return.

This is a new outlet for King Soopers on the border of Cherry Hills and U-​hills. The downside is a very crowded parking lot. On the plus side, they have a complete Murray’s cheese shop, so my daughter is very happy.
The deli and meat departments have a lot more real estate, so they can offer a wider range of prepared foods. I’ll keep stopping in on occasion to see if I warm up to Fresh Fare.

I am definitely a supporter of organic and natural foods. My first exposure was way back when Whole Foods first opened in Austin. I absolutely loved the fresh food and so cool atmosphere. What I didn’t like was the high cost :). Since then, I have been exposed to Vitamin Cottage Natural Grocers and more recently Sprouts.
I was excited to see this new King Soopers. It looks very majestic with its high ceilings and glass window front. But then reality hit when I realized the 2 floor or more high ceilings were more for looks than utility. It pained me to think of their cooling and heating bills… especially with the tall glass front. So bottom line, seems like a lot of wasted space.
I didn’t see any real «wows» there… unless I just may have missed it all. :(

I am definitely a fan of this new location which seemingly popped up overnight. When you first walk in the produce area is quite cramped and compact. They are still putting out stock so everywhere I turned I hit a roadblock — a huge cart of produce being unpacked– I suspect they will work this out. The sushi station comes next and they are very, very eager to assist you — can be a bit overwhelming. I do like that they hand you a sample of sushi instead of having many hands reaching into the display for it. They also have cut up fruit like Whole Foods and veggies chopped and packed for you at reasonable prices. A generous cheese selection is in this area along with the bakery.
I also like that they have a decent sized gluten free freezer with appetizer offerings in the section but as you can see it is all very cramped. The Starbucks is ill placed in the very heart of the busiest section of the store — this may be problematic. The meat counter has a great selection and the staff there is very helpful. I am glad I grabbed a pork loin there when I did because today they were out of the small ones.
Everything is shiny and new and the pricing is well King Soopers pricing. There is a good amount of parking and there are 2 entrances to get in. One drawback is the pharmacy is in a completely separate building which means 2 different transactions if you want to pick up some over the counter allergy meds or cough syrup.

This King Sooper’s just opened, and it might be my new favorite grocery store.
«Fresh Fare» definitely has a focus on organic and natural products, which is great– especially since they’re very reasonably priced compared to, um, their competitor (who I love but my credit card doesn’t) where you’re likely to spend your whole paycheck. The store is quite a bit smaller than your average chain grocery store, but they seem to have just about everything and it’s laid out very well; everything is easy to find. There’s a great selection in meat/​seafood and the deli case, and the bakery looks nice, too. They even have made-​to-​order sushi and a Starbucks in the back corner. The parking lot seems big enough, and everyone who works there is helpful and actually seems happy to be there.
I commute up and down University, and until now, the store where you spend your whole paycheck was the only real option between Colfax and Dry Creek. A natural-​focused but low-​priced grocery store is a great addition to this part of town!

I was doing the lunchtime «where do I want to eat» thing today and couldn’t figure it out. Already got lunch at Whole Foods this week and didn’t want to do a repeat. It wasn’t until I was walking out the door that I thought «hey, maybe I’ll try the new Fresh Fare on Hampden!»
After circumnavigating the whole store, I left without purchasing anything and grabbed a panini at Starbucks up the street.
It’s not that this was a bad store, it just wasn’t what I thought it would be (somewhere with ample prepared lunch options where I could pick up a grocery or two).
Differences from a normal King Soopers:
— Smaller/​more compact (which I like)
— Good looking produce, a good amount of which appeared to be organic
— Additional «natural» type items such as grind-​your-​own peanut butter, bulk items, expanded natural/​organic sections
— More cheese
— Fresh-​made sushi station
— More of an urban neighborhood feel with a smaller parking lot, fewer registers, and more efficient layout.
That said, the similarities to a normal King Soopers were more offputting than not.
— King Soopers prices (a good thing obviously)
— The same cheap looking baked goods with a few «fancy» looking cupcakes mixed in
— Smaller deli/​hot food case with options such as a BYO burrito bar of which there were about five sad/​overheated ingredients to choose from and the typical dried out KS fried chicken fare
— Same prepared options (iceberg lettuce salads, etc) and olive/​tapas bar as the KS on Belleview and Yosemite and same King Soopers «Signature Soup»
— In store Starbucks
I can see the Fresh Fare being a great one stop shop for groceries in the area, but much more limited and less appealing prepared and hot food options than the Tamarac Whole Foods. Because I don’t live close enough to make it a regular grocery stop, I’ll probably stick to Whole Foods for my lunchtime trips.