A new Harris Farm could be opening in the ACT as the company reportedly considers how many stores the territory could handle.
Since the Harris Farm store in Majura Park opened in 2024, Canberrans have taken full advantage of the upscale, market-style grocery store where shoppers can churn their own nut butter and select "imperfect picks" - slightly ugly fruit and vegetables sold up to 50 per cent cheaper than the attractive ones.
Mariam Alanbaqi and her husband said they travel nearly 20 minutes to buy their groceries at Harris Farm, because they like the organic selection of vegetables, and the grocery stores closer by in Weston Creek did not have as good a selection.
"For our health and body - it is everything we need," Ms Alanbaqi said.
Situated in the airport precinct, Majura Park is more than a quick trip to the store for most Canberrans. For Ms Alanbaqi, however, the area is perfect.
"We have everything here: Bunnings, IKEA, Costco and Woolies," she said.
"The open area as well, there's no worries about the parking, it's all free," her husband added.
However, Ms Alanbaqi said she would not object to a store closer to home, suggesting one in the middle of Canberra where a number of new apartment buildings were cropping up.
Last month, Luke Harris, the son of founders Cathy and David Harris and current co-chief executive, told The Australian Financial Review the company had Canberra on its map for expansion.
"We opened our first store in Canberra two years ago, and it's going so well. We're just exploring, is it a two-store, three-store town?" Mr Harris told the AFR.
Harris Farm was founded in 1971 in Sydney and, with three of the founders' five sons now working in-house, has remained owned and operated by the family ever since.
An initial, and ultimately unsuccessful, expansion into the ACT was attempted in the 1980s, but the stores were closed down when the company hit financial troubles in the 1990s.
In 2022, Harris Farm announced its intention to return to the territory and take over the 4500-square-metre building once home to the Sesame Street Circus.
"We have always looked at Canberra longingly," another of the family's sons, Tristan Harris, told The Canberra Times when the announcement was made.
"It's a very difficult market to get space in and we've wanted to be there for a very long time."
Construction delays pushed back the original 2023 opening date, and the building was eventually subdivided to allow another tenant, Kitchen Warehouse, to move into one side.
The now 3000-square-metre Harris Farm opened in May 2024.
In May, Harris Farm announced it would be partnering with Amazon to deliver groceries to more than 50 suburbs across Canberra.
The territory was the third market in Australia to have fresh groceries delivered by the online giant, following Sydney and Brisbane.
Suyog Sankhe, head of grocery partnerships at Amazon, said about 40 per cent of customers who purchased from Harris Farm through Amazon returned.
"It's also been great to see the Harris Farm ethos of conscious shopping translate seamlessly online," Mr Sankhe said.
"Around 40 per cent of fresh items are now purchased individually rather than in fixed packs, alongside strong demand for the 'Imperfect Picks' range - which accounts for more than one in 10 items ordered."
Harris Farm was contacted for comment, but did not respond in time for publication.
