Huge Plum Market opens on PGA Boulevard

The high-end grocery features locally produced food, culinary team on site, wine expert, special candy.  

Plum Market, the latest entry in the high-end, specialty grocery category in Palm Beach County, opens Thursday in the former Bed Bath & Beyond space in Palm Beach Gardens.

Co-owned by brothers Marc and Matthew Jonna, the second generation of a Michigan grocer family, the 30,000-square-foot store emphasizes sustainable, non-GMO and organic products along with full customer service. There’s also a dedicated chef with a culinary team, who service the prepared and hot bar food areas from the in-store kitchen.

Plum joins six other gourmet and specialty markets in Palm Beach Gardens. Along the PGA Boulevard corridor are Carmine’s directly across the street, Trader Joe’s in the plaza to the west of Plum, and Whole Foods Market at Palm Beach Gardens Downtown. Fresh Market is on PGA Boulevard at Midtown west of Military Trail.

Doris’ Market is east of Plum, on U.S. 1 over the bridge, while Joseph’s Market is at Northlake Boulevard and Military Trail.

This is the second Plum Market to arrive in Florida; the first opened in the luxe area of Aventura in Miami-Dade County in 2023.

Nationwide, they have six large-format stores and 40 small “kitchens” or service stores with prepared and quick-serve foods in airports, offices and athletic facilities. Plans are to add two Plum Market small service stores to Palm Beach International Airport, one opening this summer and the next by winter of 2027.

The PGA store in the Prosperity Centre plaza is the largest of their Florida stores.

It’s more than twice the size of nearby Trader Joe’s.

‘This market is the future’

The brothers had been searching for a space for a Plum Market in Palm Beach County after Matthew moved to the Gardens, he said. Marc was a frequent visitor and, despite the already ensconced nearby markets, noticed a need.

“The growth in Florida is staggering,” Marc said. “We’d been looking in the area and saw it as vastly underserved for this type of market.”

He said the number of full-time residents in northern Palm Beach County has grown, and the area remains vital at least 10 months of the year. The residents also are affluent.

“This market is ideal. This market is the future.

“People who are moving to Florida are retirees,” he said. “They spend more income on quality products.”

They’re also active and looking for products to keep them healthy, Marc said.

“It’s part of the booming movement toward preventative health.”

They have an apothecary section with vitamins, supplements and health products. It wasn’t part of their grandparents’ grocery, he said. Their Michigan store that was eventually bought out by Whole Foods had no health products.

“That’s actually a funny story. My grandparents weren’t on board with any of that at their store. So they went out of town one week, and my dad brought in a bunch of vitamins and stocked an end cap (small shelf at the end of an aisle). It sold out.

“My grandparents were convinced, and from then on, we’ve carried vitamins, supplements, etc.”

Michael Jonna, Matthew’s 23-year-old son, is handling the store opening as director of national operations. He gave a Stet News reporter a tour last week while the store was still being finished and stock was arriving.

“The vestibule sets the tone for the store,” he said.  “It’s where we will showcase the new and up-and-coming products.”

The bright, tropical green stripes on the wall were inspired by The Colony Hotel in Palm Beach, Michael said. “My uncle stayed there and liked it.”

‘Produce is the eye candy’

The interior walls of the produce area are planked by pallet-like boards, and fruits and vegetables will be displayed in large bins. 

“Produce is the eye candy,” Michael said. 

A fresh juice wall highlights another exclusive to Plum.

“We squeeze fresh juices right here in the store,” Michael said. “We don’t have a commissary.”

Top quality products and an intense focus on customer service will be what sets the store apart from the others in the area, Michael said.

“Every department is run like a mom-and-pop unique business. Each department has a team leader and team members dedicated to that area. They will help you pick out an apple, or they can tell you about the farm it came from.”

Plum buyers are scouring the area to find as many locally produced foods as possible, but they must meet quality standards, he said.

Customer tips for local food

Managers take cues from the shoppers who know the best foods and who get out to farmers markets and meet the small sellers, he said.

Marc Jonna said: “We learn from guests. When they say there’s a great product here, we check it out immediately.”

He contrasted it with big chain stores, where it can take weeks or months to get a product in front of a store buyer.

“At Whole Foods, Amazon charges you a ton of money to even get to present (your wares). We have buyers right here in the area. If we can source it, we’ll get it. Sometimes within days.”

There are no Plum Market labels. They are transparent about sources with signage and labeling, and tout the top farms and ranches used for perishable foods.

“When you do your own private label, you’re stuck with it,” Marc said. The store loses control of quality.

Phil Cassise is the vice president of perishables for the chain, and says they’re diligent about the foods they choose, visiting the ranches and farms they source at least twice a year to see that their operations are maintained.

Strawberries fresh from Plant City

“For instance, we have a special relationship with Driscoll’s Farms,” he said. The farm is just west of Plant City, Florida’s strawberry capital. 

“They pick their strawberries in the morning, and they’re on the truck that day. We get them that day or the next. It’s farm to store. They’re never warehoused; with berries, you can’t buy warehoused fruit.”

This carries over to all the fresh departments, he said.

“We have Bell & Evans chickens; Niman Ranch does all our meats including American lamb. We get salmon from a Scottish sustainable farm, Loch Duart.”

Snake River Farms in Idaho is the source for their top-of-line American wagyu beef and Korobuta pork products.

“Even their bacon and hot dogs are the best,” Michael Jonna said.

Fresh seafood, local fish dips

Fresh seafood comes from Bar Harbor of Miami and Fort Lauderdale’s Halperns’ seafood companies.

“They deliver fresh six days a week,” Cassise said.

They’re selling local fish dips as well, including Mrs. Peters brand from Jensen Beach. Acme, from North Carolina, is the other, more readily available, he said.

Foods are inspected when they arrive. That’s how Cassise found an errant wheel of Parmesan at the PGA store.

“I don’t know if you can see it, but the cheese is stamped with a number. It’s the farm number. This is the wrong farm. It’s not the farm we buy from at Mitica. They’re in Italy and supply our Parmesano Reggiano and our prosciutto.

“Those are the details we look for and the extent of which we go to ensure quality,” he said. “We’ll sample it to see if it fits our flavor profile.” If not, it may be used elsewhere in the store and not sold as premium Parmesano.

Master sommelier oversees the wine

“Our wine department excels in guest services,” Cassise said. “It’s positioned so the team can see the whole store.

“We’re the only grocery with a master sommelier overseeing our wine program.”

Madeline Triffon is the first woman who achieved the master sommelier title in the United States and curates the Plum wine collection.

“She chooses our value wines as well,” Cassise said.

Wines are how the family grocery started, in the era of Dean and Deluca and other high-end grocers, Marc said. It evolved into the organic food category and eventually was bought out by Whole Foods.

There are wine events scheduled at the store, and Marc said he believes the area is ready for this.

“The store will be a community gathering place,” he said.

Chef oversees hot, prepared foods

“They want something to do. With the chef-driven kitchen, and hot foods — our carving station is beautiful, we have a hot bar, sushi. They can come in and have a meal,” he said. “We have beautiful seating indoors and out.”

Corporate chef Chris Charron is overseeing the hot and prepared foods with local chef Robert Trevisiano. 

“The amount of foods we make in house is huge compared to other stores,” he said. Others usually operate from a commissary and bring in the foods; Plum has a full kitchen and culinary staff on site.

“We want to connect with our community — learn what their preferences are and help in any way.” 

Catering, party planning and pantry stocking are available through the store, he said. They also can help plan a meal.

Among others, legacy recipes are used in their prepared foods section. Though empty until opening day, the trays were labeled.

“Our tuna salad is my grandma’s recipe. It’s the best you’ll ever taste,” Michael said.

A new carmelized onion dip created by the chef is “flying off the shelves.” 

Another best-seller at present is the Miracle Noodle dish. 

“It’s a low-carb, low-calorie item; that’s a very popular thing right now.”

He explained the tags on that dish, and all prepared foods, that indicate all the dietary factors a buyer might want to be aware of, he said. Gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian and vegan are some of the allergens and restrictions posted. 

“We are totally transparent.” 

Before you leave, how about a chocolate bar?

The last section before customers leave is the candy area. Michael smiles broadly, talking about it. 

“My dad’s specialty is candy. He gives out hundreds of candy bars every week.”

It’s rubbed off on Michael. 

“Seriously — you can change someone’s whole day by giving them a chocolate bar. It’s a great feeling.”

His “specialty,” he said, is guest services. He wants the shoppers to have a great experience from start to finish.

“I love the ones who have a good experience, for sure. But I think if you have someone with a problem, and you can solve that for them and make them happy, their satisfaction level goes from down here to all the way up here.” He gestured, hands wide apart.

Giving out candy is just one way to do it. 

It was through Matthew’s persistence that Plum secured See’s Candies of Los Angeles as a vendor. The 100-year-old company had resisted selling to grocers. They have their own stores peppered throughout the country.

“Dad wrote letters for eight years,” Michael said. “They kept rejecting us. But finally, they agreed to meet. The family flew out to meet with them. Now we’re the only grocery store that carries See’s.”

Plum Market is open from 8 am to 10 pm daily.