The latest Lucky's Market just opened in Clermont

On Wednesday, Clermont was the latest Central Florida town to get its very own Lucky’s Market. That makes two in the greater Orlando area, four in Central Florida and 12 total in the state. Next up are Hunter’s Creek, Winter Park and St. Petersburg.

While Lucky’s Market might not be a homegrown grocer, hailing as it does from Boulder, Colorado, like all Floridian transplants, it aims to assimilate quickly.

There is perhaps no trend more ubiquitous in the food world than “local.” In a world powered by capitalism and fed by mass production, eating (and drinking) local is a virtue, powering the local economy and cutting down on fossil fuels needed for transportation. And Lucky’s is at the forefront of all things local.

“We carry a wide variety of local products across all departments including the produce department,” says Brooke Armstrong, Lucky’s regional marketing specialist. “We’re particularly heavy in grocery, beer and wine, and then our apothecary department, which encompasses all of our supplements and body care items. We also have a select variety of local in our culinary section which includes the prepared foods.”

The culinary section is also home to the house-cured bacon, which Lucky’s cuts at each grand opening in lieu of a ceremonial ribbon.

While is a chain, and a national one at that, Lucky’s works hard to maintain the feel of a homegrown grocer by catering each location to the town and people it seeks to serve.

“We love working with local producers because it really gives each of our stores a unique flavor,” says Armstrong. “Working with local members of the community that are invested in the community and create their products there makes each of our stores feel unique because they have their own profile of all of these local vendors. That’s the main reason it’s important to us but it’s also important to us that we give back by supporting local producers buying their foods, promoting their products to our customers. We’re reinvesting in the Clermont community directly and in the Florida community as a whole. And it’s very important to us as a retailer not just to sell groceries but to be prominent members giving back to the community.”

The Clermont store carries a wide range of local products including BeeHaven Honey, Coco Yummies snacks, and Howler Monkey Sauce.
You’ll find familiar breweries well represented, including Crooked Can and MIA Brewing, both on the shelves and, often, on tap in the café.

“We typically have about four beers on tap at a time and they rotate. And typically at least one or two of them is local,” says Armstrong. “Periodically we’ll do a tap takeover of the local breweries where all beer taps will be featured as a local. We also host a variety of events, whether it’s a pop-up lunch special from our kitchen or a special partnership tap takeover in our cafe with a local brewery.”

Pints are $2 all day everyday and Lucky’s invites shoppers to Sip & Stroll. If beer isn’t your beverage, you’ll also find $3 glasses of wine. There’s also specialty sodas and Farm Boy Kombucha if you prefer your groceries without a buzz.

If you missed Wednesday’s grand opening event in Clermont, check out the Taste of Lucky’s Market party this Saturday. There will be a variety of local and national brands offering samples and demos of their products. The party goes on from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., wrapping up with a gift basket giveaway from the apothecary department.

The latest Lucky’s Market is located at 1718 E. Highway 50, Clermont. Store hours are 7a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Call 352-241-4358 or visit luckysmarket.com.