Friday morning, Rashas pulled into the parking lot of Nutrition S'Mart's new location on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard just south of State Road 56. The bumper sticker on Rashas' car hinted at why she was there. It said: "Treehugging dirt worshipper."

Rashas is a long-standing customer of the five-store South Florida-based grocery chain, which specializes in organic food and health products. She has spent years driving to the 11-year-old store in Carrollwood in Hillsborough County to find food for her son, who's allergic to soy, which has become a common food additive.

"I can't walk into a regular store and find his foods," Rashas said Friday. "We had to read multiple all-beef hot dog labels to find one with no soy."

Avid label-readers make up a large chunk of Nutrition S'Mart's customers, said general manager Rudy Rodriguez, who opened the Carrollwood store 11 years ago. He oversees that one and the new Wesley Chapel store.

"In the old days, they were seen as the health food nuts," Rodriguez said. "Back then, only a few people got it about our food supply."

Shoppers have begun to change their food habits in light of news about ground beef recalls and bacteria-contaminated spinach, Rodriguez said.

That demand has prompted major grocery chains such as Walmart and Publix to offer organic products. Last year, Publix opened a store in South Tampa aimed at expanding its Greenwise organic niche.

The same year, Whole Foods, a bastion of upscale organic food, bought its competitor, Wild Oats, and staked its own claim to the Tampa market.

Rodriguez said he expects Nutrition S'Mart to withstand the competition by focusing exclusively on organic products and selling them at prices lower than Greenwise and Whole Foods.

The 10,000-square-foot Wesley Chapel store includes a small produce section and a bulk food aisle. About a third of the space is dedicated to supplements and natural health products.

The Wesley Chapel location is a way to get closer to customers such as Rashas, who will drive long distances for what they want, Rodriguez said. "I knew at some point there would be a need in this market," he said.

Rodriguez expects the new location to help Nutrition S'Mart expand its reach, possibly as far north as Ocala. Shoppers seeking organic food will make the trip, he said.

"They don't mind going a little bit out of their way to find the kind of products that they don't have to worry too much if they're good for you," he said.