Whole Foods Market this week announced several store openings and moves.
The Austin, Texas-based grocer has signed a lease for a new store in Richmond, Va., plans to relocate a North Wales, Pa., store and has announced openings in New Jersey and Indiana.
Richmond, Va.
The approximately 40,000-s.f. store will be located on Broad Street near the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University. No target opening date has been set.
The location will allow the store to serve the people who live, work and go to school in the city, as well as the number of visitors to nearby museums and attractions, the company says. Whole Foods Market currently has one other store in the area. The Short Pump location celebrated its five-year anniversary in September.
“Richmond, particularly the Broad Street area, has such a vibrant, unique energy—from historic neighborhoods to stimulating museums, from dynamic residents to creative students—and this new site will allow Whole Foods Market to grow within the city while continuing to strengthen our established relationships,” said Scott Allshouse, Whole Foods Market’s Mid-Atlantic regional president. “Ever since Whole Foods Market came to the area more than five years ago, we’ve built meaningful partnerships with local suppliers, community organization and nonprofits. We’re excited to expand those connections and make new neighbors in the process.”
As with all Whole Foods Market locations, community engagement is an important aspect as the company works to fulfill its core values. The Short Pump store has worked with local partners such as William Byrd Community House, the Richmond Peace Education Center, Neighborhood Housing Services of Richmond and Oyster Shell Recycling Program at the VCU Rice Rivers Center.
“Neighborhoods come to life when Whole Foods Market arrives, bringing hundreds of new jobs and millions in new investment,” said Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones. “We hope that this store will quickly turn West Broad Street into a thriving retail corridor with lots of excitement and new energy. We all owe our thanks to the Sauer Family for being such good stewards of their property in the city for generations, and we look forward for more to come.”
Added Bradford B. Sauer, VP of Sauer Properties, the developer of the project, “The new Whole Foods Market store will be part of The Sauer Center, an urban mixed-use development consisting of new and historic buildings on West Broad Street and Hermitage Road. I have long been an admirer of Whole Foods Market, and we are thrilled to have them as the anchor tenant for The Sauer Center. Once completed, The Sauer Center will be a transformational development for this area of the city and will bring additional upscale retailers while preserving the area’s historic character and fabric.”
North Wales, Pa.
Whole Foods’ existing North Wales, Pa., store is expected to relocate to a new site at Springhouse Village Shopping Center in Lower Gwynedd, Pa. The target opening date is late 2015.
The new store will be approximately 45,000 s.f. with a walking path and green space nearby. The site will provide customers improved access, increased parking and expanded offerings within the store, Whole Foods says.
“Whole Foods Market’s commitment to the North Wales and Lower Gwynedd communities is as deep as ever—and with these improvements we will be able to serve our customers, both new and established, to the highest degree possible,” said Allshouse. “We can’t wait to meet our new neighbors and community partners, while keeping up with our current ones before, during and after the move.”
Springhouse Village Center is owned, leased and managed by Stoltz Real Estate Partners. Springhouse Village, when developed in 1972, was one of the preeminent mixed-use developments of the region.
“Whole Foods Market will be more than a store, it will become a gathering place and partner to the community for many years to come,” said Mark Curcio, SVP at Stoltz. “It is our goal to develop a shopping center that brings the core values and beliefs of Whole Foods Market in a way that enriches the community around it.”
Cherry Hill, N.J.
Whole Foods Market will open its newest Mid-Atlantic store in Cherry Hill, N.J., on June 18. The doors will open at 10 a.m. following the traditional bread-breaking ceremony.
The store will be more than 45,000 s.f., located at the Ellisburg Circle Shopping Center on Route 70 and Kings Highway.
“Whether it’s your first time stopping by a Whole Foods Market or visited us many times before, we invite you to come out for our grand opening—you’ll be sure to find a new favorite among our items and innovations specially selected for the Cherry Hill community,” said Joe Greenlee, Whole Foods Market Cherry Hill store team leader. “The store will be open just in time for you to grab your picnic supplies for the shore or fill the grill for Fourth of July.”
Whole Foods Market Cherry Hill will be the first location in the company to feature the “Hatchery”—a pop-up entrepreneurial space within the store where local suppliers, chefs, craftspeople and innovators have the opportunity to sell directly to Whole Foods Market customers. A different artisan will be featured each day of the store’s opening week.
The store’s features will include:
• House-made items—including mozzarella, breads and bagels, seasonal salad dressings, kettle corn and tortilla chips;
• Five specialty food bars, including olives and antipasti, marinated vegetables, beans and cheeses;
• More than 100 café seats for in-store dining and approximately 50 outdoor seats;
• Fresh sushi with bar seating;
• Organic coffee and juice bar, along with a cut fruit station with cold pressed juices;
• DIY body care and cleaning products;
• In-house “art space”; and
• Expert fishmongers and butchers staffing the fish market seafood selection, shellfish bar and Dry-Aged beef.
Indianapolis, Ind.
Whole Foods Market will open a new location in downtown Indianapolis in 2017. The 40,000-s.f. store will be located at the corner of North Alabama Street and East Market Street in the Market Square Tower. It will be the third Whole Foods Market in the Indianapolis area. The two other locations in the area are located at 1300 East 86th St. in Indianapolis and 14598 Clay Terrace Blvd. in Carmel.
“With this new centrally located store in Indiana’s capital, Whole Foods Market will increase access to healthy and organic options to downtown residents and workers,” said Michael Bashaw, Whole Foods Market’s Midwest regional president. “Located just down the street of the historic Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument, this new store will allow us to share our passion for food with the vibrant community in and around the Market East District.” The new location will offer downtown residents and workers fresh, organic fruits and vegetables, specialty items, high-quality meats and poultry, everyday pantry staples and sustainable seafood, according to Whole Foods. From the scratch bakery, shoppers will have an array of breads and pastries, made fresh daily, to choose from. The store also will feature a coffee bar, gelato station and prepared foods.
“In addition to the pizza, sushi and hot bar offerings, this Whole Foods Market will have a selection of smoked meat and seafood as well as an enhanced specialty cheese department,” said Bashaw.
