Whole Foods Midtown opening offers freebies

Big giveaways highlight debut of chain’s largest store in Southeast.

Free food, giveaways and gift cards worth up to $100 are just a few things customers can expect when the largest Whole Foods in the Southeast opens next month in Midtown.

The 70,000-square-foot store — twice as large as the average Whole Foods — will sit at 22 14th Street and open April 5, marking the 500th store opening for the company.

The health-food grocery store will be adjacent to the 39-story Icon Midtown high-rise, which consists of 390 luxury apartments attached to a nine-level parking deck.

The store will include an expansive selection of foods and wines, four fast-casual eateries across four floors, a rooftop bar, a pub, microbrewery, cooking school and programming for yoga and movie nights.

“From its extensive selection of responsibly sourced, local, and innovative product offerings, to its four unique dining spaces, to its Atlanta-inspired design elements that capture thespirit of the community, we are confident that this store will offer something for a variety of tastes, preferences, and purposes,” the store’s team leader, Abibou N’Diaye, said in a news release about the opening.

Festivities will begin on opening day at 6:30 a.m. with free coffee from a local supplier, pastries and live music. The first 150 customers in line from Friday to Sunday will receive a gift card valued between $5 and $100.

The first 500 customers in line when doors open at 7 a.m. will also receive a token for a free Whole Foods tote bag.

The day’s celebration will continue with “cycle for a nonprofit” from 9 to 10 a.m. Spin bikes will be located outside the store and for every five minutes someone spins, the store will donate $1 to the Center for Puppetry Arts.

Live music will play throughout the day as customers sample products and meet with local suppliers between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.

The store will donate five percent of its April 18 sales to Food Well Alliance, an organization that supports urban agriculture in Atlanta.

MIDTOWN ALLIANCE Whole Foods is set to open its largest Southeast location, a70,000-square-foot store at 22 14th St. in Midtown, on April 5 with a slew of free food, giveaways and gift cards.