When Alan Whitman decided to open a market in Greenwood, he wanted it to have the old small-town store atmosphere and service.
"Our mission, so to speak, is to order good quality and provide good service," he said.
Whitman said he always has been interested in cooking and food. "My grandparents ran a store similar to what we're doing," he said. "I grew up in it and told everybody that was what I wanted to do."
Whitman worked as a manager for Southern States Co. until the company closed all of its Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas stores.
"With the situation like it was, I decided it was time to try (opening a store)," he said.
Whitman's Fresh Market, in the Highland Park Shopping Center, had a soft opening last week. The store should be about 80 percent stocked by the end of the week, and after the Fourth of July, things should be 100 percent, Whitman said.
Whitman began his quest to open a market by visiting other specialty stores in other towns.
"I knew I wanted high-quality meat and produce and hard-to-find items that are not common to small towns," he said.
Whitman's Fresh Market will carry choice cuts of pork, tenderloin, ribeye steaks, New York strip steaks, Porterhouse steaks, T-bone steaks, filets, baby back ribs and any other meat the customer might request.
"Daily we will have fresh ground round. We grind every day," Whitman said.
"We can do special orders on any meat and seafood," he said. If the customer wants it, he said, he will try to find it. "We are taking orders now for special meat for the Fourth of July."
Whitman said the market also could handle orders for veal and lamb.
The market will have various types of bread, including wheat, white, French and low-carb; spices, sauces, olive oil and a prepared line of Cajun foods.
"We have a really extensive line of cheese, and we have deli meats," Whitman said.
"Once we get fully stocked, we will have a wish list where people can tell us by brand what that want, and we will special order it," he said.
Whitman's Fresh Market will have fresh seafood on Wednesdays and Fridays. All of the fresh seafood will be by special order only. The market also will have some frozen seafood in stock, he said.
The orders for fresh seafood have to be in by noon on Monday for Wednesday delivery and by noon on Wednesday for Friday delivery, Whitman said.
The fresh produce in stock at Whitman's is purchased through the same suppliers that supply the Jackson Farmer's Market, he said.
"A lot of it is Mississippi grown," Whitman said.
When the inventory is all in place, Whitman said, he wants a customer to be able to call and order six steaks, enough ingredients for six salads and bread by 5 p.m. "We'll box it up and have it waiting on them," he said.
"This is a throwback to the old-time, small-town store," Whitman said.
Whitman said he got all the planning done for the store last week and has been partially open as the inventory has come in.
Whitman said there has been a lot of walk-in traffic since last week. People have been curious about what he is planning to do at the market, he said.
Whitman's Fresh Market will be open 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.
"Basically, we are trying to get feedback from our customers on what hours are suitable for them," Whitman said. "If they are not, we will adjust accordingly."
Jerry Wilkins is the meat cutter and market manager at Whitman's.
Wilkins said he started cutting meat in 1968, and he has worked in Greenwood since the late 1970s. He started out at Woody's Market. He also has worked at Piggly Wiggly, and he ran the meat market at Jitney Jungle for 14 years. Wilkins then worked at Sav A Lot Foods for six years.
