Earth Fare

Founded by Roger Derrough in 1975, the first store opened its doors in Asheville, North Carolina as "Dinner for the Earth". Initially, Dinner for the Earth offered only organic dried bulk foods in wood barrels and wellness products on handmade shelves. With new partner Randy Talley, the store rebranded as Earth Fare in a new larger location in 1994, transitioning from a specialty store to a full-service store with expanded offerings of products, like craft beer and artisanal cheeses. Two years later, the store expanded to a second location in Charleston, South Carolina, and thereafter continued its expansion to "mid-sized metros, with the savvy and wealth to support a healthy supermarket and no competition in the niche."

In 2012, the Earth Fare chain was purchased by Oak Hill Capital.

Products

All products the store carried were free of high fructose corn syrup, artificial fats, artificial trans fats, artificial colors, artificial flavors, artificial preservatives, artificial sweeteners, bleached or bromated flour, never administered antibiotics or added growth hormones. The company claims to have the highest standard in its organic produce in North America.

While it sold food from around the world, the company also operated the policy of "100 mile Commitment" to sell as much local produce as possible from within a 100-mile radius of the store.

Store locations

At its peak, Earth Fare operated 50 stores in ten states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. As of July 2025, the chain currently operates 14 locations across 6 states: North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and 1 location in Florida, and Georgia.

Earth Fare expanded into Virginia in November 2017 with three locations in Roanoke, Fairfax, and Williamsburg. While by 2019, Earth Fare had planned fifty additional stores by 2024, the company closed two locations in Atlanta, Georgia, and one location in Columbus, Ohio in 2018. Earth Fare's Gainesville, Florida and Fairfax, Virginia locations closed in January 2020.