Customers Have Noticed This Grocery Store Is One Of The Best Places In The Midwest To Buy Produce

Grocery stores and warehouse clubs like Trader Joe's, Aldi, and Costco all have their superfans who love shopping at them. However, there's a lesser-known regional grocery chain in the Midwest that's won praise in particular as a great place to get produce. Fresh Thyme Market focuses on selling fresh, nutritious foods at an affordable price, as well as vitamins and personal care items. Customer responses suggest that, at least when it comes to fruits and veggies, it's living up to its goal.

One person wrote on Yelp, "You get EXCELLENT quality produce, especially organic, for some of the lowest prices," while a Redditor raved, "It is a real joy shopping [its] produce." Several also praised it in another Reddit thread, with one person stating, "I love the place. Great prices for the quality[,] and I really like the deals on fresh produce[,] which can rival Aldi's at times." A few people made the comparison that it matched Whole Foods standards, but without its prices.

Fresh Thyme Market is able to offer high-quality fruits, vegetables, and herbs because it gets as much of its produce as possible from local and Midwestern farms and other producers. They're shipped the day they're packed to further help ensure freshness, and are temperature-controlled during transport to any of its approximately 70 stores in 11 states. But no matter how good any produce may seem, you still have to look out for red flags when shopping for it, and you should also know what to do if it falls on the store's floor.

The first store opened in Mount Prospect, Illinois, in 2014 as Fresh Thyme Farmers Market. Not publicized at the time was that it was started by the larger Midwest grocery chain, Meijer, and is a subsidiary of that company. Its name was shortened to Fresh Thyme Market in 2020, and the logo was tweaked to remove a tractor and make it look less rustic. It's had a private label store brand since 2018, but after not investing much in it in recent years, it began rebooting the label and products in 2026.

The chain tested an approach to boost produce quality even more in 2025, teaming up with tech platform Foodshed.io to let several independent farmers bring their products right to a few of its locations. Not only does that cut down even further on the time it takes to arrive at the store, but it also allows them to bring in some items that you usually only see at actual farmers' markets, like some rare fruits. The trial was a success, and it plans to expand the program seasonally.

Fresh Thyme Market was rewarded for its practices when it came in third on the Best Grocery Store list in USA Today's 10Best Reader's Choice Awards in 2025. One of the things that contributed to the recognition is its local product sourcing. In some of the other Best Grocery Store categories, it was also voted fourth for Produce, seventh for Prepared Food, and sixth for its Loyalty Program.