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In case you haven't heard, Whole Foods is shrinking—literally.
Earlier this year, the grocery giant announced that it was going to test out small "quick stop" stores targeting urban shoppers, and that it would name those stores Whole Foods Market Shop Daily.
The first of the small format grocery stores will launch at 1175 Third Avenue by 69th Street in the Upper East Side in the fall. This week, the company announced the following lineup entry: a mini Whole Foods in Hell's Kitchen. A third iteration of the shop will debut at a third undisclosed NYC location after that.
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The Hell's Kitchen mini Whole Foods will be located at 301 West 50th Street on Eighth Avenue, just a short walk from Times Square. Like the Upper East Side address, the Hell's Kitchen store will host a Juice & Java, as well as a spot for coffee, tea, smoothies, dessert and other quick bites, per Eater.
What should you expect from these miniature Whole Foods? Basically, they'll be about a quarter to half the size of a regular Whole Foods and they will be stocked with classic fresh products that the regular store holds, as well as grab-and-go meals.
Just like the bigger shops, the mini Whole Foods will look sleek, polished and well organized, with lots of fresh produce, meat, seafood, bread and other staples. It seems like the biggest difference will be the convenience element, so you'll no longer have to wander through an overwhelmingly large supermarket to look for the ingredients you need to make dinner.
“We’re tailoring every square foot to the unique, fast-paced needs of urban lifestyles. We’re excited to introduce a new way for our customers to quickly pick up their Whole Foods Market favorites,” Christina Minardi, Executive Vice President Growth & Development, Whole Foods Market & Amazon, said in an official statement. “Expanding our footprint with Whole Foods Market Daily Shop is key to our growth, fostering deeper customer connections, and advancing our purpose to nourish people and the planet.”
The Austin-based and Amazon-owned company now operates 17 locations across New York City, and their latest "mini" venture will likely make the brand even more ubiquitous to our lives in the city. If the mini Whole Foods prove to be a success in New York, they will eventually expand to other cities across the country.