Ottawa-based grocery chain Farm Boy is opening its first Toronto-area location March 1 in Etobicoke.

The 20,000-sq. ft. store replaces Top Food Supermarket in the Shoppes of Alderwood plaza on Brown’s Line.

“Alderwood residents have been eagerly awaiting a new grocery store,” said Coun. Mark Grimes, Ward 6 (Etobicoke-Lakeshore) in a Farm Boy release.

The store offers meats, produce, dairy and home meal replacements. A 52-foot salad bar, sushi and wood-fired pizza are amongst the dine-in options.

Farm Boy, with 25 locations, has been described as a combination of Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods, focusing on healthy eating, local and organic products, and sustainable seafood. The store also has a cult following of its private line of foods (about 500 items and counting) that include condiments, frozen pizza, soups, cookies and fair-trade coffee.

The company started as a small produce store in Cornwall, Ont., in 1981. Until now, the closest Farm Boy locations to Toronto have been in Pickering and Whitby.

Doors open at 8 a.m. on March 1. The first 50 shoppers in line will receive a $20 Farm Boy gift card.

The store created 150 jobs for the community, Farm Boy said.

In 2017, CEO Jeff York told the Star that Farm Boy has 10 to 15 GTA locations in the works with plans to open in the next two to three years, including downtown Toronto.