Whole Foods Market CEO Jason Buechel, alongside 70 employees, rang the Nasdaq opening bell July 15 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its first New York City flagship store.
The 2004 opening of the Columbus Circle location, the largest grocery store in the city at that time, marked a major step in the company’s expansion in New York. Since then, Whole Foods Market has grown to 17 locations and more than 5,000 employees in the area.
“The opening of the Whole Foods Market Columbus Circle store was, in my opinion, one of the most important openings in the history of our company,” said Christina Minardi, EVP of growth and development at Whole Foods Market and Amazon’s Worldwide Grocery Stores.
“It made a huge impact on our future growth, and the excitement I felt at that opening is very much what I feel today with our team members.”
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Whole Foods Market CEO Jason Buechel echoed those sentiments and also noted the coming of a new store format, Whole Foods Market Daily Shop, which will debut this fall at 1175 Third Ave. on the Upper East Side.
“Today, we’re not just reflecting on our impact in New York City over the past two decades. We’re also looking forward to an exciting future of continuing growth in a city that has embraced Whole Foods Market with such enthusiasm,” he said. “It made perfect sense for us to launch a new store format right here. Whole Foods Market Daily Shop will conveniently bring our high-quality natural and organic food to even more New York City customers.”
The company also announced the second future location for the Whole Foods Market Daily Shop format at 301 West 50th St. in Hell’s Kitchen. An additional New York City location and national rollout will follow.
Whole Foods Market Daily Shop will feature a variety of seasonal produce, prepared foods and grocery items. Both of the announced New York City locations also will have Juice & Java, a venue providing coffee, tea, fresh-pressed juices, smoothies, sandwiches, soups and desserts.
The smaller store format will range between 7,000-14,000 square feet, or about a quarter to half the footprint of an average 40,000-square-foot store.
Whole Foods Market has more than 530 stores in the U.S., U.K. and Canada, with more than 75 stores in development.
