As Christmas 2025 settles into a treasured memory, it’s time to start thinking about celebrating New Year’s Eve. It is, after all, just days away.

The night often starts with dinner out. But if you prefer staying home, you can still share a delicious meal with friends without fussing in the kitchen. All you have to do is supply the friends. The Fresh Market will take care of the food.

The Fresh Market offers a restaurant-worthy holiday menu of appetizers, meals to make, pre-made meals ready to heat and serve, non-alcoholic bubbly drinks, and an array of tasty desserts. Just fill in a meal order form, choose a pickup time, and your multi-course dinner will be waiting.

“Chestnut Hill shoppers want what they want, but not in a snobby way,” says John Wnukowski, the Germantown Avenue store’s bulk coffee and candy specialist. “They have a sophisticated palate. They know the odd grocery item we carry.”

Wnukowski, who grew up just a few blocks from the store, has been in the food industry much of his life. Back in 1988, he ran Reed’s International Coffee with his mother, Ritajean, at what now is the Market at the Fareway. A photo of the two has the old Magarity Ford dealership in the background, where The Fresh Market now stands.

The Fresh Market is modeled on European-style farmers’ markets, where merchants bring their goods to one location and shoppers move from stall to stall.

“This is the same thing, but it’s under one roof in one building and one owner,” he says.

The Fresh Market has more than 160 locations across the country. The Chestnut Hill store is the only one located inside the city. Wnukowski helped open the store in January 2016. In fact, he moved the first pallet of merchandise off the truck into the empty building and placed the first item (olive oil) on a shelf.

“It was important to me to put the first thing on a shelf,” he says.

So, Wnukowski knows all things The Fresh Market and with assistance from his co-workers, he can help you plan a delicious New Year’s Eve dinner and make a few breakfast suggestions for the dawn (or later) of the New Year.

Using a party of six as a guide (you didn’t hear from Wnukowski, but an order for five will feed six guests), he suggests starting the evening appetizers with nuts, The Fresh Market vegetable chips and dip, and cheese for about $35 to $45.

When it comes to the main courses for New Year’s Eve, prime rib, filets, lobster, and shrimp are customer favorites. Turkey dinners are available. But really, it’s New Year’s Eve and turkey has had its day.

A whole choice filet will run about $10 per person, based on a serving of one-half pound per person. At $21.99, beef tenderloin for six would cost a little more. Sides include Twice Baked potatoes, Tuscan Herb Butter Green Beans, and Parisian Carrots.

Lobster tails are two for $19.99 while a 3.5-pound spiral sliced ham will cost $76. Sides include two pounds of scalloped potatoes, one pound of roasted butternut squash, pecans and cranberry relish.

The store makes an assortment of desserts, from pies -- Old Fashioned Apple, cherry, and pumpkin – and cakes -- Black Forest and Pistachio Honey Almond -- to cookies and tarts. Crème Brule comes in four-inch cups that sell for $3.99. There is also a wide variety of fresh fruit.

To wash it all down, the store has a selection of bottled water, seltzers, and non-alcoholic bubbly beverages. Drink mixes are also available.

On New Year’s morning, Fresh Market will have breakfast favorites like fresh squeezed juices made from blood oranges or tangerines; add a buttery croissant on the side. For $15 you can feast on a spinach and cheese quiche or the classic French tart, Quiche Lorraine. Fresh Market also has a variety of bacon – turkey, apple smoked, and even pre-made, ready to eat for those headed to the Mummers Parade.

Finally, say Happy New Year by bringing home a dozen of, not white, not brown, but baby blue Happy Eggs. The grade A, blue shell eggs come from free range chickens and are known for their amber yolks and creamy flavor.

“The yolk is as orange as can be,” Wnukowski says. “I am told that is the high point of yolk color.”

The Fresh Market website, thefreshmarket.com, also offers a variety of options for party platters, cookie trays, and coffee boxes complete with cups, sugar and creamers for pickup or delivery.