Harris Farm Markets opening delayed until mid-year

The Sydney-born fresh food market is opening at Majura Park, in the Canberra Airport precinct, just over the road from Ikea.

Initially due to open by the end of 2023, the store's launch has been pushed out by more than six months due to construction delays.

A spokesperson for the markets said construction of the store was still under way, with the internal fit out to follow.

An official opening had not yet been confirmed, but it was likely to be in the first half of the year.

"We'll be open by the middle of 2024," the spokesperson said.

The new store has also been downsized since it was announced in May 2022.

The Majura Park shop was planned to be a "flagship" store, based on the group's Albury location, and was to be housed in a new 4500-square-metre building.

But Harris Farm Markets will occupy a smaller, 3000-square-metre portion of the building, with the remaining space now divided into two tenancies.

Kitchen Warehouse, a kitchen supplies shop born out of Perth, moved into one of the spaces late last year.

Shoppers can expect Harris Farm Markets at Majura to include a butcher, fresh seafood counter, delicatessen and artisan bakery.

There'll be a large cheese selection and lots of gourmet groceries on offer too, the spokesperson said.

"Every new store is exciting but we're always most excited about our huge fruit and veg range, delivering the best quality at great prices fresh from the markets everyday," they said.

More than 100 employees will be hired for the new store and recruitment will begin once the company firms up the opening date.

While it will be the only Harris Farm Markets store in Canberra, it won't technically be the first.

The company, founded in 1971 by David and Cathy Harris, operated stores in the capital during the 1980s.

The Canberra stores closed around the early 1990s when the business ran into financial trouble.

Now under the direction of three of the five Harris sons, Harris Farm Markets has expanded to about 30 stores across NSW and Queensland.

Harris Farm Markets chair Tristan Harris told The Canberra Times in 2022 a return to the ACT had been on the cards for many years.

"We have always looked at Canberra longingly," Mr Harris said.

"It's a very difficult market to get space in and we've wanted to be there for a very long time."