Fresh Thyme Farmers Market – Cincinnati

Updated review with one star less. Over the past months I have found the Produce at fresh thyme lacking and not being properly stored. More than once I have brought home produce that I found to be rotten once I cut it up. Something that happens when produce isn’t properly stored.
Looks like the Meijer quality standards are being adopted by their sister company. Disappointing.

If I lived closer I would shop here more often. The produce looks great, but I’ve found if I do not use it within the first 2 days, everything goes bad. I love that I can find my favorite immune support supplement here, and I can never resist the salt water taffy.

After reading some reviews, I feel dismayed! Wake up people… Trader Joe’s junk is sister to Aldi (crap from overseas) and Whole Foods, well, read what has been said about that «chain» lately! This store offers «seasonal produce from LOCAL farms» and it’s wonderful and very reasonably priced… geez!
So glad I stopped in to find something for lunch… clean and easy to navigate the store… very reasonable prices and delicious food gathered here! Dolma on the olive bar was the best I’ve ever had (typically I don’t care for it, but this was wonderful)! For lunch I purchased 2 Jalapeño & Cheddar Oven baked muffins ($ 2.49)…super fresh and scrumptious, I could only eat one! I also purchased two ripe, juicy plums and before i hit the door, a dozen Oatmeal & Cranberry cookies for $ 1.99! So, for about $ 5. I had more than enough fresh, local food for 2 days lunch! I will definitely come back when I’m in the neighborhood! I live in Union Township, wish there was a location here too! I would have dined at the outdoor seating provided, but I was in a hurry!

Decided to stop by while we were in the area. We didn’t buy much, but some dried fruits and other foods at the trail mix section. Going through though it had some great bakery products and fresh produce at good prices. I was actually shocked by some of the prices for being the type of store that it is. I was pleasantly happy with Fresh Thyme and plan on going back soon.

I love shopping here. They have two categories that are always reasonably priced: produce and bulk. My husband and I always walk away paying less than I expect.
I think that is because this place is actually where to purchase whole foods, as opposed to processed foods. The produce stays fresh for a long time, the prices are more than fair, and I love experimenting with different foods from the bulk food bins to spruce up my oatmeal or use as unique popcorn toppings.
Also, the workers are always helpful and in a good mood, which I think tells you a lot about the work environment. Additionally, while they are never so empty you feel bad for them, Fresh Thyme is also never so packed you feel claustrophobic (like TJs or Krogers on a weekend)…
For processed foods, we generally stick to Kroger, Meijer, or Trader Joes, but for fresh fruit and veg, and grains, we go to Fresh Thyme.

I am a big fan of this store. Now I admit, this is not my go-​to place for my regular grocery trips, those I leave to Kroger & Meijer since they are much closer. I subscribe to their newsletter, which sends me their ads each week and if there are things listed that I want/​need, I make the longer trip over there… especially on Wednesdays when they honor both the ad for the current week and the prior week.
Most of the time, their produce specials cannot be beat. I do not require organic produce, but I like the fact that a lot of it is local and that the conventional items still are not coated with a lot of wax or that seem freakishly large (franken-​apples!). Good specials on meat & fish… found grass fed ground beef on sale cheaper than the conventional Kroger brand. And they run specials on my favorite brands of strained yogurt (Fage, Chobani & Noosa) that match or even beat Kroger/​Meijer.
Their regular prices on things are definitely higher, which is why I peruse the ads and only buy the items on special and compare them to what the more conventional grocery stores are advertising. And as a warning, on the double-​ad Wednesdays, they can sometimes be out of the items from the prior week’s ad since they don’t keep a huge inventory.

Kind of like a Whole Foods with similar types of products and similar pricing. Their produce is better than Kroger, but not as good as WF and they don’t have as large a selection of organic produce. I am not sure that it will ever replace Whole Foods as my go to organic and natural foods grocery, but I will definitely be shopping here more often as it is close to home.

I was less than impressed.
Fresh Thyme seems to be following a tired model, doing what Whole Foods, Fresh Market, Trader Joe’s, and Dorothy Lane already do.
There’s an off-​putting smell (combination of vitamin supplements and the scented patchouli candles they sell).
I’m just over manufactured «charm» in a chain store. I’m certainly over high prices for stuff that’s mass produced but packaged as if it’s funky and fun.
Am I tired and bored, or is this outfit just too late to the hip grocery store trend? These aren’t, say, home-​grown tomatoes and green beans (which would be worth the price) just overpriced produce shipped from California and Mexico (organic, yay! Was the semi it came in «green?»).
To me, it doesn’t seem like more fun to be parted from my money here than anywhere else. And it’s not as if, by going here instead of Kroger, you’re supporting a small business. It’s a chain! What am I missing?

Fresh Thyme is a bright, cheery place with a wide selection of local, organic, and the like items. The space is not huge, so you can actually see most of the store as you enter, allowing you to quickly orient yourself. The deli and bakery are near each other on the right, which makes for a lot of great smells as you enter. At my visit, a Boarshead representative was on hand providing samples of their meats and cheeses near the deli. It was also neat to see that the hot case held not only rotisserie chicken, but also hot turkey pieces. Another nice touch is that in the bakery section, there is a large freezer case which carries options like vegan and gluten free breads and desserts.
The rest of the store covers all the bases one might expect — produce, canned and boxed goods, a large freezer case, and more. There are flowers along the front. While the selection might not be as vast as it is at some of the larger grocery stores, there were some items one couldn’t find elsewhere.
Nearby parking was at a premium on my visit, so it looks like a lot of folks are checking it out.

I am glad to have this store relatively close to where I live. It’s closer than Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s. I bought some fresh chicken sausages here that were delicious grilled and got rave reviews from my family. Also bought some unseasoned bread cubes in the bakery dept. for Thanksgiving for $ 1.99 a bag. Great deal and much better for you than the pre-​packaged kind. They also have a small but nice assortment of fresh fish. Bought some snapper and it was very fresh and delicious. Plus, the fish monger was very nice and helpful. Their seafood department looks much fresher than Kroger’s. If I’m in the mood for fish, this will be my store to go to in my neighborhood.

So excited to have a less expensive version of Whole Foods! Woo hoo!
This place has great prices, super friendly staff and a great selection– including a bulk foods section. They even make their own chicken sausage in house and there are tons of flavors to choose from.
You won’t be disappointed here– skip Whole Paycheck and come to Fresh Thyme!

Conjure a mix of Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods (without the Whole Paycheck pricing), your local bulk foods purveyor, and just a little Kroger/Ralph’s/Wegman’s sprinkled into the aisles, and voila!, you have the grocery store of the future, today. Just visited for the first time yesterday with wife, and the experience was amaze-​balls.
Size is perfect, approximately triple the size of Trader’s and a quarter the size of your typical Kroger. You can walk from front to back, and side to side, in about 10 seconds each direction. Fresh butcher-​prepared sausages, poultry main dishes (herbed/​spiced/​marinated, etc.), fresh bakery, lotsa bulk grains, cereals, nuts etc., in those über-​cool tube dispensers. Fresh Thyme Farmers Market is a little bit of this and a little bit of that from best practices of aforementioned big boys.
Bonus Points: The vast majority of employees are literally looking to help you, and are eager to stop you right in the aisle and ask if you need assistance with finding anything. And they do it with a smile, as though they’re happy to be working. What a novel attitude. We just found our new go-​to grocery store. Prices are reasonable to downright surprisingly cheap. Winner.