Dave's Set to Open Doors in Quonset
posted May 14, 2009 in Resident News

NORTH KINGSTOWN — Dave’s Marketplace, the latest tenant of the Quonset Business Park, will officially open its doors for business tomorrow.

While shoppers can expect to find the same fresh and locally grown produce inside the 24,000-square-foot market, officials said the interior design will make shoppers feel as though they have stumbled into a Martha’s Vineyard market, sans the ferry ride.

While brainstorming on décor and design ideas for the new market, Bill Hogan, general manager for all seven Dave’s Marketplace locations, and Bob Fabiano, director of store development, worked with their design team to create a uniquely Southern New England feel.

“I’ve always thought a lot of the store on Post Road created this drab feeling,” Fabiano said. “We wanted to reflect that mom and pop feeling of some of the stores on Martha’s Vineyard. Shopping should be fun, why should it be drab?”

The building designer was ferried out to the Vineyard for two days to take notes and pictures of several buildings, shops and restaurants on the island, and the results of that trip can be seen after the first step into the building. The various building facades, which include a bike shop and the tiny gingerbread houses in the Oak Bluffs section of Martha’s Vineyard, gives shoppers a feeling that they are strolling through a vibrant outdoor market, Fabiano said.

Each aisle is flanked by colorful overhangings that seem to have been hand-carved, and the new store will feature two large pizza ovens as part of a fresh pizza bar and a carving station.

“It’s always been kind of a barren wasteland [in Quonset] for the workers,” Hogan said. “Now if you work in the area, you can come here for your break and get something different every day of the month.”

He estimates the new store will employ about 100 workers.

During a tour of the store on Friday, East Greenwich artist Susan Dwyer was putting the finishing touches on a seascape mural that features produce crates with the names of local vendors throughout the state that will deliver to the new store.

The building also features several energy-efficient measures, including polyglycol refrigeration units that do not use freon, a chemical that has been proven to be harmful to the atmosphere, and a LED spotlighting system designed and created by ICON, a Quonset-based business.

Although the store on Tower Hill Road will remain open, Hogan said the Post Road location would close when its lease was up.

Evolved from a small fruit stand in 1969, Dave’s Marketplace has been a fixture around the state for nearly 40 years and remains locally owned and operated.

The grand opening will be held tomorrow at 10 a.m. when a special tribute to the Quonset Seabees will be unveiled inside the store.

The full article can be found at North East Independent.com.