The Italian Fresh Mercato will be taking the space made vacant when Ritchies IGA closed.

Brodie Duffy will be the market's manager and said the idea would be for shoppers to 'touch, feel and taste', with fresh produce coming from the farm gate.

"We'll be looking to source as much fresh produce and other products from Griffith," Mr Duffy said.

"We want local people to see their products on the shelves and then shop here.

"We want them to bring their friends and family as well."

Recruitment for the 60 jobs including trade-qualified department managers was underway and there had been a huge response from the community.

"It's exciting but also very challenging, the amount of applicants we've had makes it difficult to narrow down our selection," he said.

"Our key focus is customer service and being able to help develop a family-friendly feeling."

Mr Duffy said there was opportunity for a qualified butcher and baker to build their own departments from scratch.

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Griffith Central's centre manager Cheryl Wood said the Italian Fresh Mercato would create a strong anchor tenant for the centre.

"It will be a full-line supermarket including liquor and the point of difference will be the extensive range of Italian and Mediterranean food on offer."

The new business will also have a cafe and pizza bar and a boutique wine tasting bar.

Ms Wood said in addition to new shops including Kaisercraft and Boost Juice, other improvements are on the way including a children's playground, an access ramp on the eastern entrance, as well as new above-ground parking and a new lift to the below-ground parking area.