Whole Foods Market Is Opening Its First St. Pete Location
If you live in St. Petersburg and are a fan of the popular Whole Foods Market, you’re in luck. This February, Whole Foods Market in St. Pete is set to open its doors for the first time.
Why is Whole Foods so popular?
Whole Foods Market is known for their wide selection of natural and organic food options. They took the typical grocery store and transformed it into a destination for a new kind of shopping experience.
It all started back in 1980 when Whole Foods opened its first location in Austin, Texas. Trying to fill the gap between the dull and dirty healthy food stores and the larger mainstream shopping stores like Kroger, Whole Foods provided a more mainstream feel, but with natural and organic options.
Whole Foods bans all artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives and don’t include any foods with “unacceptable ingredients” like hydrogenated fats, high-fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, preservatives, artificial colors, and more. With these higher standards, also comes higher prices. Since Amazon bought out Whole Foods back in 2017, they have had little help in decreasing the prices. Food sold inside Whole Foods Market is said to be about 10% to 20% higher than other stores. Is the difference in ingredients worth the price hike? That’s for you to decide.
Where can you find Whole Foods near Tampa Bay?
If you’re a Whole Foods shopper in the Tampa Bay area, shopping is about to get easier. The new Whole Foods Market in St. Pete is opening on February 28, 2024, at 203 38th Avenue North.
Right now, there are only a few Whole Foods within an hour drive from Tampa, and includes locations in Clearwater, Tampa, and Sarasota, this new St. Pete location fills the gap for Pinellas County shoppers. The new store draws inspiration from St. Petersburg, the Sunshine City, to give customers a new and unique experience.
There will be over 800 locally sourced products from the Southeast region thanks to Dustin Kenney, a local forager for Whole Foods Market. On opening day, Whole Foods is set to be open from 9 AM – 10 PM.