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The Avenues Welcome
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The Avenues Welcome Kimberton Whole Foods
by Karen L. Chandler
“Seeing that this location was neighbored by so many thriving independent businesses and future-focused institutions made it evident that Wyomissing was the ideal location for our growing chain of markets. We are very much looking forward to joining the community,” said Terry Brett, Kimberton Whole Foods Co-Founder and CEO, in a previous statement.
Terry and his wife, Pat Brett, moved into their newest Kimberton location in the revitalized Knitting Mills complex with a dedication to local communities, and a mission to serve them as a market fueled by a passionate commitment to integrity, sustainable agriculture, and fair trade. OUR VALUES
• We care for the earth by promoting organic and biodynamic farming methods. • We conduct our business in a respectful and ethical manner while building strong cooperative ties within our larger community. • We support each individual’s quest to learn more about conscious choices and healthy living. • We are committed to honoring each customer with outstanding service.
For over thirty years, Kimberton Whole Foods, a multigenerational, family-owned and operated grocery store and apothecary, has been bringing to communities in the Greater Philadelphia area accessibility to healthier food choices with locally sourced, natural, and organic products.
The Bretts have opened grocery stores in Collegeville, Douglassville, Downingtown, Kimberton, Malvern, and Ottsville, and now bring to Berks County the benefit of their more than 200 producers providing the freshest inventory around. For many of these local vendors, Kimberton Whole Foods is their primary retailer. And Kimberton vendors are only considered local if they are based within one hundred miles of Kimberton’s Downingtown distribution center, a central location that helps local vendors increase their reach to customers while lessening distribution costs and carbon footprints.
Through 35 years of hard work, devotion, and the support of local communities, the first store has grown into a multivenue and privately-owned grocery retail operation, actively reflecting the Brett family’s commitment to local farming and the prioritization of both organic and fairly traded foods. Back in 1986, the Bretts were managing a Chester County, Pennsylvania, farm store which sold organic yogurt made onsite at a biodynamic dairy farm with Terry hired as the farm’s first dairy processor.
Terry Brett explains that the store’s original mission was to ensure that the Seven Stars Farm could become self-sustaining. Seven Stars was incorporated in 1988, and with the Bretts’ work ethic at play, the store was “bursting at the seams.”
The ongoing growth of the Kimberton Whole Foods group remains in sync with the Bretts’ passion for integrity and sustainability in agriculture and Terry Brett is regularly honored as a model of ethical business leadership and for his valuable contributions to regional sustainable agriculture.
“Repurposing an existing building, such as the historic Knitting Mills, turns an underutilized property into a productive business within the community, without having to develop land. This revitalized building gives us ample square footage to provide a full-service shopping experience. Kimberton Whole Foods’ average footprint has grown over the years; our flagship store in Kimberton Village offers 5,500 square feet of retail space, while our new Wyomissing location is a total of 16,500 square feet with 13,000 of that for retail. This shift to a larger footprint is a result of the business’s growth and everexpanding product selection,” Terry Brett said previously.
The Bretts moved to the Village of Kimberton in 1994 and began the journey that became the Kimberton Whole Foods Group. Always inspired to support the many communities surrounding Kimberton Whole Foods locations, the Bretts bring their Rounding Up at the Register program to their grocery stores, allowing Kimberton customers to give back to local community non-profits by rounding their sales totals up to the nearest dollar when they get to the check-out.
Anxious to help even further, Kimberton doubles all the funds raised to bring even more help to non-profits bringing support and comfort close to home.
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Reflecting the Bretts’ dedication to service and community, Kimberton Whole Foods strives to give back.
“Our mission has always been to serve as a community market. It has been our longstanding belief that in order to create meaningful, lasting success – in business and in life – you must first act and serve in your local community. Rounding Up at the Register is just another extension of our mission. The beauty of this program is seeing how our customers have embraced the opportunity to give back to their communities as well,” said Terry Brett in an earlier statement.
The Rounding Up at the Register Program was born in 2020 after Director of Operations and Facilities Ezra Brett was inspired by a visit with his family to a New England co-op.
Each of the Kimberton locations features a different non-profit every month, adding up to at least 84 organizations supported by the Rounding Up program each year. Program recipients are carefully chosen through feedback from customers, Kimberton staff, and community members. “I am elated that our customers, through their daily generosity, have helped us reach this incredible milestone. With just a few “round up” pennies at a time, we’ve been able to send our united support to so many varied and deserving causes and groups. I am so very grateful for our thoughtful customers!” said Pat Brett, Kimberton Whole Foods Co-founder, previously.
November 2022 Helping Harvest
December 2022 Opportunity House
January 2023 Hope Rescue Mission
February 2023 Unending Promise Autism Support
Recipients of the Rounding Up donations range from shelters and food pantries to fire companies and libraries.
Continuing with their passion for becoming a part of their local communities, the Bretts and Kimberton Whole Foods collaborated with Albright College to create a 375- square-foot mural mounted in the store.
With enthusiastic community participation on the murals, other community outreach and support, and its passion for providing healthy food options for its customers, Kimberton Whole Foods will become an integral part of its new home in Berks County.
“Wyomissing borough has been incredibly supportive in all that we (KWF) have had to undertake to bring our market to Wyomissing. And the community interest has thus far been unparalleled,” said Terry Brett in a previous statement.
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