A purveyor of blast-frozen meats and seafood plans to open a store in Glendale this year.
Wild Fork Foods, owned by JBS USA Food Co., is developing a store near the Bayshore shopping center. The retailer plans to open at 635 W. Silver Spring Drive, where Jos. A. Bank previously operated a store.
A spokesperson for the business said by email that the store is planned to open in the fourth quarter.
“The good people of Milwaukee deserve the same level of customer service and in-store experience that residents of other Wild Fork markets receive,” the spokesperson said by email. “We feel there is a strong demand for high-quality products in the market, and we’re excited to be able to offer our assortment to Milwaukeeans online and, in the near future, in-store.”
Wild Fork Foods sells its goods for pick-up and delivery. Its product line includes more than 500 meat and seafood choices. Customers can order specialty products, including bison, wild boar, alligator and ostrich. The meats and seafood are blast-frozen, the spokesperson said, because the process “minimizes crystallization and maintains peak tenderness and juiciness.”
In addition, Wild Fork Foods sells a selection of plant-based meats and products from other food categories to complete a meal. For example, customers can purchase skillet entrees, pizzas, vegetables, breads and desserts.
In Glendale, the Wild Fork Foods store will be roughly 5,000 square feet. The spokesperson said the space will undergo “major interior construction” to adapt the storefront into a Wild Fork Foods shop.
Josh Minkin, a senior vice president at Colliers International, represented the landlord in the deal.
Per the spokesperson, Wild Fork Foods now has 31 open stores, and the retailer expects to finish the year in the high 30s. According to its website, the merchant’s footprint includes stores in Florida, Texas, California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Illinois.
The spokesperson did not directly address a question from the Milwaukee Business Journal about how many other stores Wild Fork Foods would open in the region or state. Decisions are made based on the performance of open stores and market opportunities, the representative said.