Deerfield Fresh Thyme Farmers Market Closing

DEERFIELD, IL — The Deerfield location of Fresh Thyme Farmers Market is shuttering next month, the company announced. A closing sale began Thursday at the grocery store at 35 Waukegan Rd. and the final day of business will be May 5.

Founded in 2014, Downers Grove-based Fresh Thyme has expanded into 66 stores in Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa and Ohio with financial backing from grocery giant Meijer.

It opened 20 new stores in 2017 and planned to open 10 additional stores this year, the Daily Herald reported. Real estate opportunities that happened to come available meant the chain grew faster than expected, the company's CEO told Supermarket News last year. The company also added new senior leadership in 2017, including Dean Little as chief operations officer in November after hiring Carol Okamoto as chief financial officer in March and Mark Doiron as chief merchandising officer in May.

The store's location at the corner of Waukegan and Lake Cook roads opened in June 2014, according to the Deerfield Review.

Store director Jon Little told the paper he would be remaining with the company, but it was still in the process of determining whether current employees would be transferred to the chains other area locations in Mount Prospect, Chicago, Crystal Lake, River Forest, Downers Grove, Naperville and Joliet.

“This is business," he said. "If you don’t thrive you don’t survive. It was in the company’s best interest to close at this time."

Fresh Thyme had been a regular sponsor of the Deerfield Harvest Fest, along with the Deerfield-Bannockburn Chamber of Commerce, and the chamber named it its 2017 business of the year.