Jungle Rumblings in Clermont County!
Immediate Release
February 3, 2012
Batavia, Ohio. Two 12-foot gorilla statues will welcome visitors to the Union Township Jungle Jim’s International Market, now set to open in late spring or early summer. “One of the gorillas will hold a sign welcoming you to the Foodie Entrance and the other will keep watch!” said Jungle Jim’s affable Director of Development Phill Adams, during a late January 2012 tour of the site. “Since the big sign went up out front (along with a segment of the old Kings Island monorail suspended on a tall bridge. coming out of the sign), hundreds of people each day have been e-mailing, asking about the store on Facebook, or stopping by. This is going to be a cool store!”
Slightly larger than the flagship Jungle Jim’s in Fairfield, Adams describes a visit to the jungle as ‘sensory overload.’ “Every time you come here you will have a new adventure,” he said. Everything in the store is larger than life, even the refrigerated units. In a typical grocery store there would be 75-80 refrigerated units; the Clermont County jungle will have almost 300! “This store will have its own personality and will feature a 1942 fire truck as the centerpiece for the hot sauce, decorative watercraft in seafood, there will be a very unique honey display, and our wing sauce section will feature airplane parts collected during a ‘junking’ expedition,” said Adams. He said there will be a movie theater featuring the story of how Jungle Jim’s began and a documentary covering the building of the Eastgate store. Although he wouldn’t get specific, he did hint that the bathrooms in the Eastgate store will be unique, and purple. The 212,000 square-foot store includes a large glassed-in humidor, and a decorative wine area. In the rear of the building, there is a brick streetscape, and old Metro bus stops have found a new lease on life on the outside of this unique building.
Over 100,000 people are expected to visit the Clermont County Jungle Jim’s; Adams said the typical visitor spends about 2 ½ hours. “We’ve gotten a lot of questions about jobs at the Eastgate store,” he said. “We plan to hold a job fair about four weeks before the new store is set to open, however, people can go to our website, www.JungleJims.com and fill out an application.”
When the Eastgate Jungle Jim’s International Market opens on Eastgate South Drive (near I-275 at SR32), Adams said the entire 415,000 square-foot plaza will be full of an eclectic mix of tenants. “This place is like an amoeba, constantly changing form!” said Adams, as he walked off to put even more WOW factor into the store that has the feel of an amusement park for food. Expect to see bumper cars and cartoon characters everywhere…..along with a boatload of international foods, an olive bar, and what Adams describes as a ‘yummy’ sushi experience!
To watch an interview with Adams about the new store, visit the website http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Fcgzfkytr8.
Pictured above: Phill Adams with Jungle Jim’s International Market holds a drawing of the Foodies Entrance sign that will soon go up at the Clermont County store.
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For additional information about this or other county news, contact Clermont County Communications Director Kathy Lehr at (513) 732-7597 or by e-mail, klehr@ clermontcountyohio.gov.