Whole Foods Market is set to open the doors of its relocated Lexington store at The Summit at Fritz Farm on Friday, June 23, following a grand opening ceremony at 8:45 a.m.
The new location at Nicholasville Road and Man o’ War Boulevard will feature a pub and outside fire pit area, along with expanded selections of local products.
“We are excited to share this store and its expanded features and product offerings with new shoppers and longtime Whole Foods Market customers alike,” said Melissa Arnett, the Lexington store’s team leader, in a release announcing the opening. “The store will include many new and locally sourced and seasonal products that meet our high quality standards. Whether you come for self-serve mochi, wood-fired pizza, local beer on tap at the Barn Door Tap Room, or scratch-made bread, the store will be a new gathering place for the community.”
The 40,000-square-foot facility is designed to reflect Lexington’s history, using a reclaimed barn door and recycled bourbon barrel tops in its design. The Barn Door Tap Room will feature a seasonal farm-to-table menu and 32 taps, many of which will offer local craft beer. More than 75 local suppliers will add to the store’s inventory of products, with offerings ranging from seasonal produce to fresh pasta to barbecue sauce. In addition, the store’s bread will be made in-house with spent grain from Barrel House Distilling Co.
Whole Foods made headlines last week when Amazon announced its plan to buy the company for $13.7 billion. The plan was widely viewed as a strategic move by the online giant into brick-and-mortar operation, and an effort to bolster the company’s own grocery delivery service, AmazonFresh.
To promote its grand opening, Whole Foods also extended invitations to LexArts friends and donors to attend behind-the-scenes tours of the new facility on the Tuesday and Wednesday before opening day. The company announced plans to collect a suggested $5 donation from visitors for the tour, with Whole Foods promising to match all donations up to $5,000 and donate all proceeds to LexArts.