Detwiler's Farm Market: New North Port location announced

NORTH PORT, Fla. - A popular family-owned grocery chain is officially expanding, bringing a new storefront and an economic boost to North Port.

North Port expansion

What we know:

Detwiler's Farm Market will be coming to a 52,000-square-foot standalone grocery store on a plot of land off Sumter Boulevard and I-75. The new location will be the eighth store for the Detwiler family and will serve as the anchor for a brand-new retail center. 

The project is expected to create 125 new jobs for the North Port area. 

Family values

What they're saying:

Detwiler's is a family-owned and operated business. The family works to live by their motto, "Eat Fresh for less."  

"When we pick a location, we don’t have a big board of directors, it’s the family," Samuel Detwiler, the president of Detwiler's Farm Market, said. "We will drive down the interstate. ‘Wow, we’d like to be there’ and wherever. It’s kind of our gut that leads us. Ultimately, God leads us."

The deal came together after the family received a phone call. 

"When Michael Saunders reached out and said ‘hey, we have an opportunity,’ and then we met Ty with Sentinel Fund. We met him, we liked him," Detwiler said. "We are big about knowing who we are working with."

The chain prides itself on keeping a small-town atmosphere, centered around family values.  

"As we branch out from this area and people are like, ‘we need you in Lakeland, we need you in North Port, we need you in Fort Myers,’ my mom is like ‘we need to hold up a family picture, we are a family we are not a big corporation we can only go so fast,’" Detwiler said. "We don’t have a big process. We are simple. We are just like, wow we know this is right, and those of you that keep asking us to go here and there you are a part of helping make that decision."

Shoppers frequently travel long distances across counties just to buy groceries at the market. 

"The fresh produce. We live up in Spring Hill, and we have maybe one or two places up there, but you can’t beat the prices here," shopper Joe Benvenuto said. "We travel about almost 2 hours with traffic coming down from Spring Hill. We usually hit there when I am working. When we come down here for family trips and stay local, we usually come here and stock up here."

Anticipated opening

What's next:

The site plan application for Detwiler's North Port location is still under review by North Port City staff. The location is expected to open by 2028. 

For Manatee County residents, Detwiler's River's Edge location is anticipated to open by spring of 2027.