Sneak peek inside Morristown’s new Whole Foods Market

Front cafe seating in Morristown's new Whole Foods Market. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Front cafe seating in Morristown's new Whole Foods Market. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
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The doors open at 9 am on Earth Day. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
The doors open at 9 am on Earth Day. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

By Kevin Coughlin

Walking into Morristown’s new Whole Foods Market is a bit like stepping into one of those dreams where everything seems vaguely familiar and strangely different.

Yes, the supermarket occupies the same Washington Street location that housed an A&P for 44 years, with the same bricks outside and the same cramped 19,000 square feet of floor space inside.

That’s pretty much where the similarities end.

Shoppers who come to the Earth Day grand opening, at 9 am on Wednesday, April 22, 2015, will discover aisles that now go East-West, instead of North-South.

(Don’t look for a ribbon-cutting, either; dignitaries will break a seven-foot-loaf of bread instead.)

Everything looks shiny and new; skylights brighten the effect. At every turn, the emphasis is on local, natural, organic and sustainable.

Crank your own peanut butter, by the pound. (No additives!)  Buy cookies in bulk, get a discount. (Less packaging=smaller carbon footprint!)  Rest easy knowing your eggs came from cage-free hens, and your beef was reared humanely on a farm in Skillman, NJ. (The Global Animal Partnership vets Whole Foods suppliers.)

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Some proceeds from sales of jewelry (supplied by a Montclair vendor) will be donated to the Jersey Battered Women’s Service. That’s in line with Whole Foods’ corporate policy of contributing 5 percent of net sales to charity, according to spokesman Michael Sinatra.

“We want to fit into the larger mix of the community, and not just be a grocery store,” Sinatra said on Monday, during a tour of Whole Foods’ 13th New Jersey supermarket.  Established in Austin, Texas, in 1980, the chain has grown to 425 stores nationwide.

‘LOCAL FORAGER’

Two days before the Morristown opening, the place was a frenzy of activity. Many of the store’s 141 employees were on hand, busily cleaning fixtures, stocking virgin shelves, and hauling boxes to and fro.

Unlike the A&P that closed in December 2013, Whole Foods will boast a sushi bar; a hot bar with Hispanic, Indian and barbecue items; a coffee bar; and a sandwich deli.

Whole Foods also found room for a pizza counter. Last year, store representatives told town planners they needed to convert a vacant dry cleaning shop in the parking lot to a pizzeria because the store was too small.

Those pizzeria plans were withdrawn in response to public opposition.  Freshly repainted, the Washington Cleaners structure awaits a new use. “We’re keeping our options open,” Sinatra said.

Front cafe seating in Morristown's new Whole Foods Market. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Front cafe seating in Morristown’s new Whole Foods Market. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

In warm weather, Whole Foods anticipates opening its new garage-style front doors for garden sales and other outdoor events.

A bakery will whip up scones, cannoli, custom cakes and other confections. Intrepid shoppers will find specialty items from Amish country, and “Happy Water,” a byproduct of maple sugaring in upstate New York. “Local Forager” Elly Truesdell is paid by Whole Foods to scout for novel offerings.

Shoppers accustomed to A&P prices won’t suffer sticker shock at Whole Foods, Sinatra insisted.

“People will be plenty surprised with how competitively priced we are,” he said, noting that the chain has a house brand and discount coupons.

FAST AND FRESH

One A&P feature you won’t find at Whole Foods is a liquor store. State law only allows food chains to hold two liquor licenses, and Whole Foods already has hit that limit.

Customers still must maneuver around pillars in the aisles, just like in the A&P days, and limited shelf space still means fewer choices for some items. A block party probably would wipe out the toilet paper supply, for instance. Kings faced similar challenges recently when renovating its Morristown supermarket.

On the bright side, less storage room should translate to fresher food, said Matt Ray, Whole Foods regional vice president for purchasing.

“We’re going to turn product around here very quickly,” Ray said.

In other words, you won’t need Google Earth to navigate the store, the way you do at the ShopRite of Greater Morristown.

Bike racks in front of Whole Foods should prove handy, because the parking lot has fewer spaces than before. (Ninety-one now, compared with 113 in the A&P days.)

Sinatra said the store has made arrangements for staff members to park at nearby Burnham Park. Regional employees will park at the Dalton garage on Cattano Avenue, he said.

Grand opening festivities will include butter-churning demonstrations by people from the Fosterfields Living Historical Farm, which will receive 5 percent of the store’s first-day proceeds.

And the first 200 shoppers will get free shopping bags emblazoned with the store logo, Sinatra said.

MORE ABOUT WHOLE FOODS MARKET

THEN AND NOW: A & P in 2013, Whole Foods in 2015. Photos by Kevin Coughlin
THEN AND NOW: A & P in 2013, Whole Foods in 2015. Photos by Kevin Coughlin

1 COMMENT

  1. Whole Foods is pretty much overpriced. Too bad Trader Joe isn’t opening there, instead. It’s a much better store.

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