Good Earth re-opens in larger store

FAIRFAX -- Good Earth Natural Foods' new store, located at 720 Center Blvd. in Fairfax, opened today at 11 a.m.

[caption id="attachment_49055" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Mayor Pam Hartwell-Herrero cuts the ribbon for the new Good Earth store. (Michel Kotski photo)"][/caption]

Mayor Pam Hartwell-Herrero cut the ribbon at the ceremony this morning. The last day in the previous location at 1966 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. also in Fairfax was Monday. Hours of the new store are 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

Good Earth first opened at 123 Bolinas Ave.  in 1969 and stayed 31 years, moving to Sir Francis Drake Boulevard in May 2000.

The new store was a complete overhaul, redevelopment and aesthetic transformation of a dilapidated former Albertsons store. At 22,164 sf, it’s close to triple the size of the Sir Francis Drake store.

The new location has sustainable design with daylighting (placement of windows for effective natural lighting), energy-efficient LED lighting, double roof insulation to conserve energy, "Deep Green" electricity purchases through Marin Clean Energy, reverse-osmosis water purification, a greywater recycling system, native landscaping, bioswales (removes pollution and limits stormwater runoff), solar-heated hot water (with more solar energy planned) and "green wall" (living plants on a wall to absorb heat) coming soon.

Almost every surface in the entire building has been replaced -- reclaimed wood, granite, hemp countertops, stone and artistic concrete.

"What a ride!" said Al Baylacq, partner of Good Earth. "My dream is coming true. We've had the vision for a larger Good Earth for more than five years now, and I believe we have re-built a location that will be home to this Fairfax business for a long time and that is truly a community one."

Good Earth has enjoyed success for more than a decade and now can give back to the community through the project, he said.

"We're moving out of a building that I love and into one that we believe will honor and respect all the elements that have made Good Earth so special for over 40 years," he said.

Another partner, Mark Squire, said the store has been part of a reawakening of public interest in healthful food.

"We feel that the success of Good Earth over the last 42 years is a direct result of a new awareness of food and farming and the profound role they play in the health of our families as well as the health of the environment," he said.

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