Whole Foods Market will open a new 45,400-square-foot store at 201 W. A St. in downtown San Diego on Sept. 23. Doors open at 9 a.m. on opening day, and regular store hours will be 7 a.m.-10 p.m. daily.
The location will be the fourth Whole Foods Market store in the San Diego area and the 95th in California. Its product assortment features more than 1,500 local items from California-based suppliers, sourced with the help of Patrick Wyman, forager for local and emerging brands at Whole Foods Market.
The store will include certified organic, conventional and Sourced for Good produce, with an assortment sourced from local suppliers including Dassi Family Farm, Kenter Canyon Farms and Durst Organic Growers. All fresh produce and floral items meet the company’s Pollinator Health Policy to reduce the use of chemical pesticides.
A specialty department dedicated to cheesemakers and artisan producers will feature local offerings including charcuterie, chocolates and flatbread crackers. The cheese counter is overseen by trained cheesemongers.
A grocery section will offer exclusive brand items and products from local suppliers, including dried fruit and trail mix, hot sauce, organic eggs and jams.
A seafood counter will provide fishmonger service, ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat meal solutions and several local items. All offerings are either sustainable wild-caught or Responsibly Farmed. A full-service meat counter offers animal-welfare certified selections and butchers available to cut steaks and poultry to order. Local items including air-chilled chicken, hot dogs and sausages and grass-fed lamb. Animals must be raised with no antibiotics ever.
A beverage selection will include spirits, more than 500 wines and more than 330 craft beers, with products from 40 local breweries and 110 local wineries. A prepared foods department will offer hot food and salad bars with a rotating menu of comfort foods and seasonal options, fresh pizza by the slice or whole pie, a Market Sandwich venue, a Market Plate venue offering homemade-style meals and sushi rolled fresh daily.
The bakery department will carry special diet items and seasonal options, along with local offerings.
On opening morning, the first 300 customers in line will receive a limited-edition downtown San Diego tote bag and a Secret Saver coupon featuring savings up to $100 off.
Community support
In celebration of the opening, Whole Foods Market is providing a food donation to Porchlight Community Services, which makes regular surplus food pickups from local Whole Foods Market stores to help prevent food waste and serve the surrounding community. The nonprofit received a 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 also will provide a monetary donation to Porchlight Community Services.
All food at Whole Foods Market must meet the company’s quality standards, which prohibit hydrogenated fats, high-fructose corn syrup and more than 300 flavors, colors, sweeteners and other ingredients found in food. All beauty and body care products must meet the company’s body care standards, which ban more than 240 ingredients, including phthalates, parabens and microbeads.
Founded in 1980, Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods Market is part of Amazon’s Worldwide Grocery Stores and serves customers in more than 545 stores across the U.S., Canada and the U.K. Prime members who shop at Whole Foods Market have access to benefits year-round, including discounts on select products each week and an additional 10 percent off hundreds of in-store sale items. Customers can pay in-store with the Whole Foods Market or Amazon app. Grocery pickup will be available shortly after opening.