Whole Foods Market will open a new 38,432-square-foot store May 21 at 1 Riverside Ave. in Jacksonville, Florida.
The location features more than 800 local items sourced from 115-plus Florida-based suppliers, curated with the help of Dustin Kennedy, forager for local and emerging brands at Whole Foods Market.
Design rooted in place
The store’s design pays tribute to the history of the site. Vertical wooden slat walls pay homage to the vertical lines of the Florida Times-Union newspaper building that once sat on the property.
The color palette features soft green and blue hues that represent the water and sky seen along the riverfront of the historic Brooklyn neighborhood of Jacksonville.
Prepared foods and produce
The store features a prepared foods department with hot food and salad bars offering a rotating menu of comfort foods and seasonal options. Customers can find fresh pizza by the slice or by the whole pie, a Market Sandwich venue featuring gourmet sandwiches and sushi rolled fresh daily by Genji.
The produce section includes certified organic, conventional and Sourced for Good options. All fresh produce and floral items meet the company’s Pollinator Health Policy to reduce the use of chemical pesticides. Local options include potted herbs from Kitchen Gardens.
The curated grocery section is filled with exclusive products from local suppliers, including ice pops from The Hyppo Gourmet Ice Pops, honey from Bee Friends Farm and snacks from The Lentil House.
Seafood, meat and specialty
The seafood counter provides expert fishmonger service, ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat meal solutions and a variety of packaged smoked items. All offerings are either sustainable wild-caught or responsibly farmed. Local options include littleneck clams from Cedar Key Seafarms, smoked fish dips from Key West Smoked Fish Co. and a local fresh fish assortment including Florida-caught finfish and lobster.
The full-service meat counter features animal-welfare certified selections with expert butchers available to cut steaks and poultry to order. Offerings include made-in-house fresh sausage and marinated and seasoned meats. All animals must be raised with no antibiotics ever. Local options include beef from Adams Ranch Natural Beef.
The specialty department celebrates cheesemakers and artisan producers, with trained cheesemongers overseeing the cheese counter. Local options include hand-pulled mozzarella from Mozzarita, fruit jams from Gables Delight and breadsticks from Jennifer’s Homemade.
Beverages and bakery
The beverage selection includes more than 500 wines and 200 craft beers. Local beer options include Swamp Head Brewery Big Nose IPA, Intuition Ale Works Party Wave Hazy IPA and Bold City Brewery Manatee IPA.
The bakery department offers bread baked fresh daily as well as everyday favorites, such as Whole Foods Market’s Berry Chantilly Cake and brown butter cookies. The department also carries a wide variety of special diet items. Local offerings include rugelach, challah and rolls from Simply Delicious Cafe and Bakery and Key lime pie from Keys Fisheries.
Wellness and beauty
The wellness and beauty department offers a wide range of body care, beauty, lifestyle and supplement products. Local options include TrueFit protein powders from RSP Nutrition, soap from Lolablue and skincare and haircare products from Acure.
Opening day festivities
Opening morning, customers will enjoy samples from La Gringuita Gourmet Cookies and coffee from Bold Bean Coffee Roasters.
The first 300 customers in line will receive a limited-edition Jacksonville tote bag and a Secret Saver coupon featuring savings up to $100 off.
Community giving
To celebrate the opening, Whole Foods Market will provide a food donation to Gleaner’s Dispatch, which makes regular surplus food pickups from local Whole Foods Market stores to help prevent food waste and serve the surrounding community.
The organization previously received an all-electric refrigerated van through Whole Foods Market’s Nourishing Our Neighborhoods program, which aims to enhance the ability of local food rescue organizations to transport surplus food to areas facing the greatest need.
Whole Foods Market will also provide monetary donations to Hunger Fight and United Community Outreach Ministry.
Quality standards and prime benefits
All food at Whole Foods Market must meet the company’s rigorous quality standards, which prohibit hydrogenated fats, high-fructose corn syrup and more than 300 flavors, colors, sweeteners and other ingredients commonly found in food. All beauty and body care products must meet the company’s body care standards, which ban more than 240 commonly used ingredients including phthalates, parabens and microbeads.
Prime members who shop at Whole Foods Market have access to benefits year-round, including deep discounts on select popular products each week and an additional 10 percent off hundreds of in-store sale items. Customers can pay in-store with their palm using Amazon One or with the Whole Foods Market or Amazon app. Grocery pickup will be available shortly after opening.
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