Whole Foods inches toward Exton opening
WEST WHITELAND » The much anticipated Whole Foods in Exton is now advertising for workers, a further sign that the high-end grocery store is on track to open early next year.
Rachael Dean Wilson, a company spokeswoman, said the store is looking for about “150 passionate, food-focused individuals to fill positions across departments ranging from cashier to meat cutter to cake decorator.”
Wilson said Whole Foods is not ready to commit to a date for the store opening yet.
“There’s always a possibility for delays during the construction, design and development process, but we are thrilled to be opening our doors next year and excited by the enthusiasm we are seeing from customers,” she said in an email.
Representatives appeared before the West Whiteland Board of Supervisors on Oct. 25 and received approval for a transfer of a liquor license into West Whiteland for Whole Foods, Township Manager Mimi Gleason said.
As the representatives described it, the store will have a full bar — beer, wine and spirits — for those sitting at the pub or in a rooftop terrace area, Gleason said. They also will sell take out beer and wine, although not spirits, similar to what other supermarkets in the area already do.
Whole Foods representatives told township officials they are on schedule to open in January 2018, Gleason added.
The arrival of the store has been anticipated by the “foodies” in the area who swear by Whole Foods’ emphasis on organic and natural offerings.
The project in Exton is a cornerstone of efforts of PREIT, the owners of the Exton Square Mall, to revitalize the property.
The Philadelphia-based developer announced in July 2015 it would tear down an existing Kmart facing Route 100 and replace it with the Whole Foods. Initially, the upscale supermarket was projected to open in 2017. Whole Foods will be leasing the space from PREIT at the location.
The developer said Whole Foods and accompanying work would present a better looking entrance to Exton Square. It, along with a new Round 1 entertainment complex, are efforts by PREIT to adjust to the new retail environment being faced by all malls.
Although Whole Foods has declined to say, the delay in the opening in Exton and another area location could have been due in part to the sale of the company to Amazon.
In addition to Exton, work had stopped after the exterior was completed at a Whole Foods store in the Ellis Preserve development in Newtown Square.
In June, Amazon.com disrupted the grocery world by announcing it was buying Austin, Texas-based Whole Food for $13.7 billion.
In its help-wanted listing on Indeed.com, Whole Foods said it is looking for employees to “provide courteous, friendly, and efficient customer service ... Perform duties related to customer service, stocking, and sanitation in assigned department(s).”
Also on the personnel front, Whole Foods said all of its open U.S. stores will participate in a job fair on Thursday, Nov. 2. Full-time, part-time and seasonal jobs will be available.
Amazon has used massive job fairs before — it held them at 10 of its fulfillment centers over the summer to fill 50,000 open positions. But this recruitment push will be run entirely by Whole Foods, said a spokesman. effort to regain it.
Konopka doesn’t have a computer in her office and doesn’t know how to use one. Two file cabinets in a tiny waiting room inside a 160-year-old clapboard house hold most of her patient records. The only sign of technology in the waiting room is a landline telephone on her desk.