Whole Foods back in expansion mode as it opens in new market

Whole Foods Market continues to enter new markets.

The natural and organic food retailer has opened a 50,000-sq.-ft. store in the Rochester suburb of  Brighton, N.Y. It’s Whole Foods’ first location in the Rochester area, and comes after the company opened its first store in Montana, in Bozeman, earlier this year, along with a location in New York City’s Financial District.

In remarks at the National Retail Federation’s 2023 Retail’s Big Show in New York City in January, Whole Foods CEO Jason Buechel said that the company has about 50 stores in its pipeline.

“We’re looking to grow that to at least a hundred,” said Buechel, who took the reins as chief executive from founder John Mackey in September 2022. “Ultimately, we want to be opening 30 or more stores a year.”

The newest Whole Foods boasts a mid-century modern design that leans into Rochester’s rich history as an epicenter for photography. (Legendary photography company The Eastman Kodak Company was founded in Rochester.) This includes an enlarged film strip over the specialty department featuring local landmarks as a nod to Kodak.

The store features more than 500 local items from Central and Western New York. The  grocer announced that local egg supplier, Oliver’s Organic Eggs, is the newest recipient of a low-interest loan from Whole Foods’ Local Producer Loan Program (LPLP), which lends money to small-scale, local or emerging producers across the U.S. and Canada to help them grow their businesses.

Oliver’s Organic Eggs will use their $65,000 low-interest loan to build a new hen house, supporting its growth and the added volume from the new location. To date, LPLP has provided over 365 loans, representing roughly $28 million in capital for its recipients.

Highlights of the Rochester store include:

•An array of organic, conventional and  Sourced for Good produce, with an in-house “Veggie Butcher”  cutting fruits and vegetables to order, with offerings from more than a dozen local farms;

•Prepared foods section includes a hot food bar, salad bar, soup station, made-in-house rotisserie chicken, fresh hot pizza, sushi, prepacked salads and sandwiches to-go. The store will also include Za’atar, a Mediterranean-inspired Whole Foods Market venue, featuring fresh salads and grain bowls;

• Specialty department dedicated to celebrating cheesemakers and artisan producers,  with the cheese counter overseen by trained cheesemongers;

•Full-service meat counter with craftsman butchers available to cut steaks to order or debone poultry;

•Bakery department offering made-in-house bread as well as seasonal favorites. The department has partnered with a local bakery to provide baguettes, sourdough, table batard and more; and

•Whole Body section featuring a large selection of seasonal and experiential bath offerings.

Whole Foods Market has more than 500 stores in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.