Doylestown residents Mare Kremser and Don Berk began their love story in an unconventional location: a grocery store. 

The pair, who both lived just a few blocks from the Simply Fresh by McCaffrey’s on West State Street, decided to meet for their first date at the small market seven years ago, writes Michele Haddon for the Bucks County Courier Times.

Since the market opened in 2016, Simply Fresh has served as a community space for locals, giving residents a place to bump into friends and catch up while shopping. 

When McCaffrey’s Food Market announced it would be closing the small store in early 2027, Kremser decided to create a petition encouraging McCaffrey’s to keep the Simply Fresh open. 

“Living in the heart of our town, McCaffrey’s Simply Fresh has become a haven for all of us,” she wrote in the petition. 

While she doesn’t anticipate the petition will change anyone’s mind, she hopes it will send a message. 

“I really wanted them to know how much we’ve come to rely on them, and we are really going to miss them… We’d love it if they would stay, but we understand the business decision they made to close Simply Fresh and open a larger store across town. I wish them luck over there,” said Kremser. 

Read more about Doylestown’s Mare Kremser and Don Berk, and the petition to keep Simply Fresh by McCaffrey’s open in the Bucks County Courier Times. 

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