As the newly regenerated Earth Fare company continues to secure more store locations to reopen, it has begun hiring for the Westgate location in Asheville.

"At Westgate, we are moving forward on hiring, down to the department manager level," said Bethany Turon, president of the newly formed company that will use the Earth Fare brand. "We hope to make all those offers this week."

The new company, which announced in late March it planned to reopen a handful of Earth Fare stores after the previous company declared bankruptcy, has now secured leases on six locations. Those include the Westgate store in Asheville, and one each in Boone; Athens, Georgia; Roanoke, Virginia; and Summerville, South Carolina.

"The latest one we've just announced is in Rock Hill, South Carolina," Turon said. "That's our first location in the Charlotte market."

Local investors revived company

The new company is seeded by local investors, including Turon and primary investor Dennis Hulsing, who owns the Crowne Plaza Resort and the two Asheville Racquet Club locations, as well as Earth Fare founder Roger Derrough and Randy Talley, who worked for Earth Fare for years and then founded the Green Sage cafes.

Founded in 1975 as "Dinner for the Earth" in Asheville, the company became Earth Fare and steadily expanded, before being sold to an investment firm.

In February, the previous Earth Fare company declared bankruptcy, after years of aggressive growth and heavy debt loads left the operation unable to continue. The previous Earth Fare announced Feb. 3 it was closing all of its 50 stores by the end of that month, stunning loyal customers and its 3,270 employees.

For subscribers:From one Asheville store to over 50 locations, here's what led Earth Fare to bankruptcy

'My customers are family'

That would include Sherrilynn Clark, a customer service employee at the Westgate Store who had been with Earth Fare for 35 years. The new Earth Fare has offered her a job back at Westgate, and Clark is looking forward to what she considers a homecoming.

"My job was listed as customers service, but it goes so far beyond that," said Clark, who is also a local bluegrass musician and Asheville native. "All my people and my customers are my family. I’ve been taking care of these people since I watched them come in together as couples, as teenagers. I watched them get married and have babies, and then I watched as their children become adults. And then now I'm taking care of them as adults."

Like other employees and customers, Clark said she was shocked by the abrupt closure and bankruptcy, a path she did not foresee for what was once a solidly-anchored community store. But the former Earth Fare had wandered away from its roots, Clark said, and she's looking forward to a return to them.

"It’s kind of like, 'I’ll pick up where we left off before we were so rudely interrupted,'" Clark said with a laugh. "That was such a shock to the community."

Clark took a job with the North Asheville Ingles, and she's grateful that the Black Mountain-based chain helped out so many displaced Earth Fare workers. But she acknowledges that Earth Fare is where her heart is.

"Earth Fare is my home place and my home base — I've been there for 35 years," Clark said. "So, it’s where I feel like I’m more in my element, in the health food business."

Leads on eight locations total

Turon said they're hoping customers feel back at home, too. The new Earth Fare has secured leases on the six locations, most in the "20-year range," said Turon, formerly a senior vice president of human resources and organizational strategy for the previous company.

They'd like to get Westgate open and then one more store each in the coming weeks until they're all back up and running. As the locations were already fitted as groceries, the new company will not have to do upfits, which helps with the quick timetable.

As it will open first, Westgate is hiring first, too. The store will have staffing levels similar to before, probably "a bit over a hundred" workers, Turon said. While they understand some former employees may have found work elsewhere, the new company would like to bring back as many as possible.

"We'll consider any previous Earth Fare team member who left in good standing to come back to the Earth Fare family," Turon said.

The new Earth Fare lost out to Whole Foods in the bidding process for the South Asheville location, but Turon said that doesn't mean a second Asheville spot is out of the question.

"I would say that it kind of goes back to existing where there’s a need and where there's an opportunity," Turon said. "If there were to be a (store) box where the fixtures area provided and there was a strong need and demand that's unmet currently, that’s certainly something we could be interested in."

The new Earth Fare isn't actively pursuing a second Asheville location right now, but it is hot on the trail of two additional locations in the Southeast.

"I think in another week, we'll be able to announce the eight," Turon said April 8. "It could end up being higher than that, too."

A flurry of publicity after the announcement of a revived Earth Fare has brought in more potential investors, and that means the new company may be able to pursue more locations, she explained.

The investment group, called "DJ3" and headed by Hulsing, bid $1.9 million for the first three store leases and equipment through the bankruptcy court proceedings, as well as the Earth Fare name and the internet protocol address, or IP address.

Earth Fare hiring for Westgate location

The new Earth Fare grocery company is hiring employees for the Westgate location. Information is available on the Earth Fare Westgate page on Facebook, or by sending an email to: earthfare100@gmail.com