Whole Foods to open small store in NY

New format called Market Daily Shop for dense urban areas

AUSTIN, Texas – Whole Foods Market is going smaller.

The Austin, Texas-based natural foods grocery chain is opening its first downsized store on the Upper East Side in Manhattan with additional locations in New York City expected to open later in 2024.

After the New York City launch, Whole Foods Market said it plans to bring the format to other cities across the country. It did not respond to an American-Statesman query about whether Texas is included in those expansion plans.

The new format, called Whole Foods Market Daily Shop, will feature locations ranging from 7,000 to 14,000 square feet, about a quarter to half the footprint of an average 40,000square-foot Whole Foods Market store.

Whole Foods, which is owned by ecommerce giant Amazon, said the stores will be designed to provide customers in urban neighborhoods with a quick, convenient shopping experience. The plan is to target expansion in dense metropolitan areas.

Whole Foods Market Daily Shop will provide a convenient option for grab-and-go meals, snacks, weekly essentials and a quick destination to pick up ingredients to complete a meal, the company said.

Though smaller, the stores will still offer Whole Foods Market favorites, including seasonal produce, meat and seafood; prepared foods such as sandwiches; prepacked meals, breads, alcohol and supplements; and a range of local specialties and products from the 365 by Whole Foods Market brand.

The Whole Foods Market store in Manhattan will also offer Juice & Java, a venue for coffee, tea, fresh pressed juices, smoothies, sandwiches, soups and various desserts.

In bustling hubs like Manhattan where proximity matters, the stores will bring Whole Foods closer to existing customers while extending the company’s reach to others in surrounding neighborhoods, the company said.

“At our new store formats, we’re tailoring every square foot to the unique, fast-paced needs of urban lifestyles,” said Christina Minardi, executive vice president of growth and development for Whole Foods Market and Amazon.

Minardi said expanding its footprint with Whole Foods Market Daily Shop is key to the company’s growth.

The new smaller stores will not replace the traditional Whole Foods Market store format. In 2023, Whole Foods Market added its 17th store in New York City at One Wall Street.

The company, one of Austin’s most successful startup stories, was founded with a single store on North Lamar Boulevard in 1980. It grew into a chain of more than 460 stores by the time it was sold to Amazon in 2017 in a deal valued at $13.7 billion. Today it operates 530 stores.