Whole Foods Market Inc. will open one of the company’s new “365” stores near Decatur at North Decatur Road and Church Street, roughly a half mile beyond city limits. Omar Gaye, the company’s South Region president, said the new store is part of an S.J. Collins Enterprises development that will also include another 60,000 square feet of retail and 300 apartments.
Collins has partnered with Whole Foods on a number of developments throughout the southeast.
365 is a streamlined version of a conventional WFM, an average 30,000 square feet, although Gaye said that Decatur at 35,000 will be the largest.
“Over the next few years I would like to open several 365 stores [throughout metro Atlanta] … I believe that we can create an experience that is different from our nearby stores [at] Ponce de Leon and Briarcliff Road, thus allowing us to compete better,” Gaye wrote in an email to the AJC.
The chain is attempting to draw younger shoppers, to attract those making multiple smaller trips and those looking for a quick lunch stop.
Of the 19 stores of this type to come online, the first opens May 25 in greater Los Angeles, with two more scheduled for this year and as many as 10 more in 2017. It’s currently unknown when Decatur’s will open.
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