Whole Foods Market Expanding In Chicagoland
Whole Foods Market is expanding its Chicagoland footprint with the forthcoming opening of a new store in St. Charles.
Located in the city’s western suburbs, the 36,234-square-foot store at 300 S. 2nd Street will celebrate its grand opening on June 25 and be open daily from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. It will feature more than 650 products from the Midwest, sourced with the help of Margie Omastiak, forager for Local and Emerging Brands at Whole Foods Market.
Features of the new St. Charles store include:
- An array of certified organic, conventional, and Sourced for Good Local offerings
- Specialty department dedicated to celebrating cheesemakers and artisan producers that will include a cheese counter overseen by trained cheesemongers
- Curated grocery section filled with exclusive brand favorites and local products
- A full-service seafood counter featuring only sustainable wild-caught or Responsibly Farmed seafood and a large selection of pre-seasoned and marinated ready-to-cook items
- A full-service meat counter, with butchers available to cut steaks and poultry to order. Features include in-house dry-aged meat selections and made in-house sausage.
- A selection of more than 240 craft beers, 180 spirits, and 555 wines
- A Prepared Foods department featuring fresh pizza, rotisserie chicken, made-to-order sandwiches, and sushi
- A bakery department offering made-in-house bread as well as everyday favorites, such as Whole Foods Market’s Berry Chantilly Cake and Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Whole Body department with a large assortment of wellness, beauty, and lifestyle items
As part of the store’s grand opening celebration, Whole Foods Market will provide a food donation to HCS Family Services, which makes regular surplus food pickups from local Whole Foods Market stores to help prevent food waste and serve the surrounding community. Whole Foods will also donate an all-electric refrigerated van to the nonprofit organization.
Both donations are part of the company’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 make monetary donations to area organizations Lazarus House and Fox Valley Food for Health.
Additionally, Whole Foods will present Chicago-based supplier Evergreen with a low-interest loan through the Whole Foods Market Lending Program, to help grow operations and support expansion to more Whole Foods Market locations.
Through the program, Whole Foods Market lends money to small-scale, local or emerging producers to help them grow their businesses. To date, the retailer has provided 419 loans, representing roughly $35.7 million in capital for recipients.
