The Fresh Market is larger, and that makes longtime customer Barbara Jones happy.

"It's much, much nicer. It's really great. I know we'll enjoy it," she said Wednesday while shopping in the store's new expanded location in the National Hills Shopping Center on Washington Road.

The 23,200-square-foot store is 30 percent larger than its former location in another part of the shopping center.

"We love the location. It's been a great location for us. It made perfect sense for us to relocate within the center," said Randy Kelley, the senior vice president for real estate and construction at The Fresh Market.

The expanded store has more organic produce and larger departments for flowers, wine, dairy, fresh meat and frozen foods, said Craig Carlock, The Fresh Market's chief operating officer.

"I loved their fresh produce and meats," Carol Blount of Martinez said during the grand opening. "The desserts, also. Everything is really good."

The store added 11 employees, bringing its total staff to 82 workers, Mr. Carlock said.

The Greensboro, N.C.-based grocery chain had tried to expand its building space, but it was easier to start over in a new location, Mr. Carlock said.

The store opened in its previous location in 1990.

The shopping center's landlord, Abernathy and Timberlake Investments Group LLC, plans to tear down the old store within three to four months and build a CVS pharmacy closer to the road, Mr. Kelley said.

The Fresh Market has 86 stores in 18 states in the Southeast, Midwest and Mid-Atlantic. It has nine stores in Georgia.