Harmons — 75 years and counting . . .
As Harmons celebrates a milestone, it's emphasizing freshness, quality even more
Though its selection and layout have undergone transformations in the past seven decades, Harmons holds to the same principles of quality and value incorporated in 1932 by its founders, Jake and Irene Harmon. The couple opened their first fruit stand, The Market Spot, at 3300 S. Main followed by a store in Granger. Very much a family affair, the Harmons' son, Terry, and his wife, Doreen, and their children and grandchildren have expanded the small venture to include 12 Utah stores today.
Bob Harmon, Jake and Irene's grandson and now the company's vice president of marketing, says new concepts and old philosophies have helped shape Harmons as one of the last remaining locally owned supermarket chains in Utah.
"Things are continually changing," Harmon said in an interview last week at the chain's Brickyard Plaza store.
The variety of produce Harmons' carries is one of the most obvious areas of growth. What began as a fruit stand offering basic seasonal crops now has more than 300 kinds of produce, he said.
New hybrid fruits and vegetables developed by the agricultural community are added to the department periodically, he said, and Harmons also stocks specialty items that were once unavailable in the Salt Lake Valley.
From the addition of sushi chefs in the delicatessen to Harmons' brand bratwurst made in-store, Harmon attributes all the company's changes over the years as efforts to satisfy consumers by providing "a higher quality and a better product."
The chain's executive chef, Kyle Lore, said the addition of an artisan bakery and cheese counter in seven of the stores is evidence of the "food renaissance" the country has undergone in the past 20 years. Americans are tired of "dumbed-down" food, so the supermarket trend is to provide higher-end, specialty products.
While the movement has taken a few years to get to Utah, Harmons added its artisan bakery and artisan cheese counters two years ago with plans to eventually have them in all 12 locations.
"Americans are coming to enjoy these things," Lore said. "We are willing to put a higher-quality, hand-made product out to the public because we feel that they'll enjoy it."
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