We’ve spent the past year working with Cumberland Farms to launch a new concept, one that we all expect to serve as the future of the organization, and it opens officially this Friday in Farmington, Connecticut.

It’s always exciting and rewarding to see projects come to the launching point, of course. But this one is particularly special.

What captivated us, early on in the project, was learning that Cumberland Farms was started in the late 30’s as a small dairy farm by a young couple who’d recently immigrated to America from Greece. The company, now a chain of 600 stores, is still owned by the same family, run by its third generation.

This is authenticity.

The Cumberland Farms brand is iconic in New England – it’s at the heart of hundreds of towns and cities across the region, an easy stop to pick up staples, or to satisfy cravings for candy bars & Coca-Cola. Cumberland Farms’ business credo is straightforward and timeless: serve local communities by delivering good value.

Across the span of the food marketplace, we see concepts try to convince consumers of their heritage, of their value. Our baloney-radar goes off easily. Consumers know when it’s real, and they know when it’s not. Authenticity matters.

With the opening of the new store in Farmington, customers will see an expansion of value through the introduction of toasted sandwiches, flatbreads & pizzas cooked in accelerated ovens, and by experiencing a more prominent telling of the company’s heritage.

It’s the same message from 1939: deliver good products at a good value.

Especially today, New England – and all of America – needs authenticity like this.