Sneak Peek of Whole Foods Market

The official opening of the newest Whole Foods Market is at 9 AM on Thursday, January 30th. Opening day celebrations include complimentary coffee from Blanchard’s Coffee Roasting Co., breakfast bites from Brekkie and music before the store opens. Additionally, the first 200 customers will receive a custom Whole Foods Market Richmond reusable tote bag, as well as a savings card with a mystery value ranging between $5 and $100.

This afternoon we were allowed in for a sneak peek. The store was busy but calm as last-minute touches were put in place.

Fruits and vegetables with clear signage letting you know which came from local growers.

Everything falls under the Whole Foods Market’s Whole Trade Guarantee which is committed to ethical trade, working conditions, and the environment.

Ever wonder what 150lbs of cheese looked like? After 16 hours the carving will be done.

Over 150 bulk items available.

Information about the local vendors on display.

The bakery was busy baking.

Pizza is one of the many prepared foods that will be available. Others include a salad bar, soups, rotisserie chicken, sushi, and mezze bowls.

Upstairs is where you’ll find some of the seating for over 150 people, self-serve beer and wine, as well as self-serve items such as wings.

The self-serve beer taps.

View from the mezzanine.

Kombucha by Blue Ridge downstairs at the RVA Cafe.

Self-checkout as well as your regular checkout lanes.

Official Press Release:

Whole Foods Market in Richmond opens its doors to the public at 9 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 30. Located at 2024 West Broad Street, the former location of Pleasants Hardware, the new 47,000 square-foot store incorporates the original brick façade, wooden beams and other historic elements of the Kaufman building. Opening day celebrations include complimentary coffee from Blanchard’s Coffee Roasting Co., breakfast bites from Brekkie and music before the store opens. Additionally, the first 200 customers will receive a custom Whole Foods Market Richmond reusable tote bag, as well as a savings card with a mystery value ranging between $5 and $100.

“We are thrilled to open our second store in the Richmond area,” said Bill Balderson, Store Team Leader. “We look forward to providing the RVA community with an expansive selection of fresh, high-quality and innovative products, hundreds of locally sourced items, as well as a self-serve eatery and taproom where shoppers can gather to enjoy a beverage or grab a bite to eat.”

Offering a selection of locally sourced options, grab-and-go prepared foods and natural and organic grocery items, all food at Whole Foods Market must meet the company’s rigorous quality standards, which prohibit hydrogenated fats, high-fructose corn syrup and artificial sweeteners, as well as over 100 colors, flavors and preservatives commonly found in food. In addition, all beauty and body care products must meet the company’s body care standards, which ban more than 100 commonly used ingredients, including phthalates, parabens and microbeads.

Special features of the store include:

• Fresh produce department offering a wide array of fresh fruits and vegetables, including offerings from local growers and a range of items with Whole Foods Market’s Whole Trade® Guarantee, which supports suppliers that are committed to ethical trade, working conditions and the environment.
• Full-service butcher featuring made-in-house sausages, dry-aged offerings and bone broth-making kits, as well as lamb and beef selections from Virginia-based suppliers like Grayson Natural Farms.
• Seafood department featuring a variety of fresh and frozen seafood, all Responsibly Farmed or sustainable wild-caught, with fresh options from suppliers in the area like smoked fish from Ivy City Smokehouse, oysters from True Chesapeake Oyster Co., shucked oysters from Harris Seafood, clams from HM Terry Co., crab meat from JM Clayton Seafood Co. and headfish from George’s Seafood Distributors and Southern Connection Seafood.
• Specialty foods section featuring a variety of cheeses, with options from 10 local suppliers, including Meadowcreek Dairy, Shenandoah Family Farms and Mountain View Farm; department’s cheese selection is overseen by an in-store American Cheese Society Certified Cheese Professional who can offer expertise and recommendations for any request or occasion.
• Hundreds of beer and wine options, many from local producers such as Stone Brewing, Three Notch’d Brewing Company, Early Mountain Vineyards, Old Westminster Winery, Rosemont of Virginia Winery, Lightwell Survey Wines and Breaux Vineyards.
• In-house bakery offering an array of freshly baked breads, cakes and pastries as well as items for special diets and options from local suppliers including Antbear Bakery and Smart Cookie Kitchen.
• Variety of prepared foods including a salad bar, soups, pizza, rotisserie chickens, Kikka sushi as well as build-your-own mezze bowls featuring a variety of Mediterranean flavors and toppings
• Bulk section offering more than 150 items including nuts, seeds, granola, grains, dried fruit and candy.
• Beauty, body care and home goods section offering products from five local suppliers, including goats milk bar soap from Naked Goat Soap Co., coffee body polish from Mac’s Smack and shave soap from Regiment.
• Nearly 1,000 products throughout the store from about 150 local suppliers, some of which are new to Whole Foods Market or are recipients of Whole Foods Market’s Local Producer Loan Program, which provides low-interest loans to local producers to help grow their businesses.

The Richmond store also features a self-serve eatery and taproom on the mezzanine level that is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. With indoor and outdoor seating for more than 150 guests, it offers a variety of pub-style fare such as buffalo wings, crispy brussels sprouts, arancini and Sicilian-style pizza, as well as self-serve wine and beer that customers are invited to drink while shopping in the store.

Amazon Prime members who shop at Whole Foods Market have access to a number of benefits year-round, like deep discounts on dozens of select popular products each week and an additional 10% off hundreds of in-store sale items. In addition, eligible Prime members receive 5% back on Whole Foods Market purchases when using the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Card.

Whole Foods Market Richmond will employ approximately 165 full and part-time team members. Following the grand opening, the store will be open from 7 a.m. – 10 p.m. daily.

Whole Foods Market has one other store in the area, with the first being its Short Pump location in Glen Allen, Va.

For more information visit https://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/westbroadstreet.