After years of calls from local residents for a more affordable grocery store, Amazon-owned Whole Foods Market announced it would open a store in Hell's Kitchen at the Nasdaq opening bell on Monday.
The new store will be located at 301 W 50th Street, at the corner of 8th Avenue, and will open in the space vacated by a Rite Aid that closed in February 2022. It will be the second of three Whole Foods Market Dairy Shop grocery stores planned for New York City.
First announced in March, Whole Foods Market Dairy Shops will sell a variety of fresh produce, prepared foods and staples. While a typical full-size store averages about 40,000 square feet, the new smaller stores will range from 7,000 to 14,000 square feet. This store was advertised as just over 8,700 square feet.
The new store will also feature an in-store cafe, Juice & Java, serving coffee, tea, freshly squeezed juices, smoothies, sandwiches, soups and desserts.
A full-sized Whole Foods Market is located on the other side of Hell's Kitchen, at Columbus Circle and Hudson Yards. Between these stores are Food Emporium, Gristedes, D'Agostino's, and other stores, all known for their high prices and general rundown condition. One of these stores almost always has a bucket to catch the dripping water from the ceiling.
So is Whole Foods more affordable (compared to, say, Trader Joe's)? Last October, Penny Hoarder asked that very question. Trader Joe's is generally cheaper on basic items, while Whole Foods offers more specialized products and a better shopping experience. Both stores have money-saving strategies. Adding to Whole Foods' advantage is that Amazon Prime members get an additional 10% off most items.
The first Whole Foods Market Dairy Shop was announced earlier this year to be opening at 1175 Third Avenue on the Upper East Side, and is expected to open in the fall. It's unclear when the Hell's Kitchen store will open, or where the third store will be located.
In February 2022, City Councilman Eric Bottcher launched a campaign to attract a Trader Joe's to the neighborhood called “Trader Joe's, Be Our Valentine.” At the time, resident Ann Davis, organizer of the neighborhood Facebook group “We Need a Trader Joe's or Aldi in Hell's Kitchen,” said, “Everyone here wants it, but not everyone knows how to make it happen.”
Bottcher has been in contact with TJ's regional managers, but the campaign has so far been unsuccessful.
