The Fresh Market will open a new Chapel Hill location at 9 a.m. Wednesday. It's the chain's first store in the area and its 13th in North Carolina.

The specialty grocer operates 80 stores in the Southeast and Midwest, with plans for continued expansion into the Mid-Atlantic area.

The day of opening activities includes a live jazz band from 12 to 4 p.m., complimentary outdoor BBQ, a free coffee sampling to the first 1,000 customers, food stations and chef demonstrations from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. where local chefs will be preparing Hereford Steak with a Cabernet Blue Cheese Sauce and Crab Cakes with Rémoulade Sauce.

Chef demonstrations will continue throughout the week until Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day.

The new Fresh Market is at 1200 Raleigh Road, Chapel Hill.