The Fresh Market claimed the No. 1 spot as America's best grocery store in USA Today's 2026 readers' choice awards, and swept four more categories too.
Readers put the Greensboro, North Carolina-based chain first in the Best Grocery Store category of the 2026 USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice Awards. The same vote also gave The Fresh Market first-place wins in Best Produce, Best Deli, Best Prepared Foods, and Best Bakery.
President and CEO Brian Johnson discussed the results with Fox News Digital, pointing to fresh food, in-store butchers, and a simple mission that treats everyday shopping as something better than a chore.
Johnson has led The Fresh Market for just over six years. He told reporters he connected with the brand immediately.
Brian Johnson said:
"I really fell in love with the brand [from] day one. It makes it really easy to come to work every day. We have a great team here."
He framed the company's edge in plain terms: curated produce and meat cut in the store, not shipped in as a finished package.
Johnson said:
"When you buy a fresh product from us, you can be assured that our team has curated only the best, the freshest produce, the freshest-cut meat. We cut meat fresh in our store every day."
He added that every store keeps multiple butchers on staff so customers get the freshest meat available. The company mission, he said, is "to make the everyday eating experience both extraordinary and easy."
Customer comments highlighted on the company's site matched that pitch. One shopper praised "the variety of veggies" sold in steam bags, already prepared, with "wonderful variety," and described the produce area as organized, neat, and orderly, with "not a single spoiled thing in sight."
That focus on ready-to-eat options and clean, reliable fresh departments helps explain the sweep across produce, deli, bakery, and prepared foods, categories where shoppers notice quality fast and forgive little.
Johnson said the company does not take the guest support lightly.
He said:
"We really don't take that for granted, and we really appreciate that... We feel very close to our guests. It's kinda like family."
Ray and Beverly Berry founded The Fresh Market in 1982. The chain now runs more than 170 locations across 22 states and added five stores over the last year, with Johnson signaling plans for more growth.
Publix, Kroger, and ALDI also earned spots in the USA Today 10Best grocery rankings. Readers tied Publix to cleanliness and friendly staff, Kroger to convenience and wide selection, and ALDI to affordability. The Fresh Market still took the overall No. 1 crown and the fresh-food subcategories.
In a grocery market full of bulk aisles and price wars, voters rewarded a chain that still staffs butchers, polices produce quality, and sells meals people can cook without a second trip.
When customers cast real ballots on who runs the better store, fresh food and basic standards still beat the race to the bottom.