Business

Whole Foods preparing to open chain of smaller grocery stores in NYC

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Social Links for Shannon Thaler
Published March 5, 2024, 1:57 p.m. ET

Whole Foods Market said it will roll out a chain of convenience store-sized shops in New York City as part of an ongoing expansion in densely populated metro areas across the US.

In a press release on Monday, the upscale, Amazon-owned supermarket said the quick-shop stores will range between 7,000 and 14,000 square feet each — more than 50% smaller than a typical Whole Foods grocery store’s average 40,000-square-foot footprint.

Dubbed Whole Foods Market Daily Shop, the first iteration will be located on the Upper East Side, at 1175 Third Ave., between 68th and 69th streets, a space previously occupied by grocery rival Food Emporium.

a Whole Foods Market Daily Shop storefront on Third Avenue in Manhattan with people standing in front of it
Whole Foods Market said Monday that it’s launching a chain of quick-shop stores, beginning with a location on New York City’s Upper East Side sometime later this year. Courtesy of Whole Foods Market

According to commercial real estate marketplace Commercial Cafe, the space spans just over 13,300 square feet and has sat vacant ever since Food Emporium moved out last March.

Whole Foods said that its new 1175 Third Avenue will move into the space “this year,” and busy New Yorkers can expect “a convenient option for grab-and-go meals and snacks, weekly essentials, and a quick, easy destination to pick up ingredients to complete a meal.”

In addition to the selections of produce, prepared foods and alcohol that will be on offer, it will be the first of Whole Foods’ more than 500 nationwide outposts to offer Juice & Java, a Pennsylvania-based casual coffee venue.

After opening on the Upper East Side sometime in the coming months, the Amazon-owned Whole Foods Market Daily Shop is expected to roll out additional locations across the country.

Whole Foods’ timeline for opening the small-format stores was not immediately clear.

A woman shopping in a grocery store.
Called Whole Foods Market Daily Shop, the new concept will offer produce, prepared foods and alcohol, as well as offerings from coffee shop Juice & Java. Courtesy of Whole Foods Market
A store sign that reads "Whole Foods Market Daily Shop" with a reflection and blue sky in the background.
Whole Foods’ new, smaller stores will range between 7,000 and 14,000 square feet each — marking a more than 50% recution from a typical Whole Foods grocery store’s average 40,000-square-foot footprint. Courtesy of Whole Foods Market

Whole Foods assured its latest venture will not replace its full-on grocery stores.

Representatives for Whole Foods did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.

News of the Upper East Side comes at a time when grocery-store competition has ramped up in New York City: Wegmans opened its long-awaited, 87,000-square-foot Astor Place location in October.

The Post learned earlier this month that some kind of wonderful Wegmans is also set to fill a big, vacant space in Manhattan’s Lincoln Square.

Pedestrians passing in front of Whole Foods Market Daily Shop in New York, as captured in a photo by Michael Nagle on February 2, 2024.
Whole Foods Market Daily Shop’s first location will be located on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, at 1175 Third Avenue, between 68th and 69th streets, a space previously occupied by Food Emporium. Michael Nagle

Though it wasn’t immediately clear whether the company is set to open its typical food market or an entirely new concept, Wegmans signed a long-term deal for the former Bed Bath & Beyond space at 1932 Broadway, between 64th and 65th streets.

Other grocers, including budget-conscious Lidl and Asian food destination H Mart, announced they were expanding into Chelsea and Long Island City, respectively.

Whole Foods already piloted its Market Daily Shop in Chelsea back in 2019, which Eater described as a “bodega-like convenience store.”

Highlights included an acai bowl station and kombucha on tap, per Eater, which said that most fare was either pre-prepared by Whole Foods or grab-and-go options from local purveyors.