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It's always a big deal when a new Whole Foods opens. With its legions of fans, the upscale grocery store sells the sorts of organic and pesticide-free products that New Yorkers have come to rely on to stock their tiny kitchens.
If the amount of people who attended the opening of the chain's newest 42,000-square-foot store located inside One Wall Street at 66 Broadway is of any indication, the new shop will be a very successful business move.
The store follows in the footsteps of the over ten other Whole Foods in Manhattan in terms of look, feel and product range: customers can expect the items sold on location to be free of the same 230 ingredients that are banned at other markets (including high-fructose corn syrup, aspartame and saccharin, among others). Cheese and meat specialists also abound on site, offering both traditional and more eclectic produce that is sure to delight all sorts of shoppers.
There are, however, a few things that make the latest addition to the Financial District culinary scene stand out from the rest:
1. Accents from the Famous Original Building Have Been Kept Intact
The new Whole Foods sits at the ground level of the historic One Wall Street building and, inside, patrons will immediately notice the Art Deco accents that pay homage to the space they're in. Parts of old elevator doors adorn the walls behind the self check-out counter, for example, while a vintage, golden mailbox sits at the foot of the escalator.
2. For the First Time Ever, the Coffee Bar is Offering Local Roasts
Usually serving Allegra coffee at all of its counters, this Whole Foods is testing out a local brand for the very first time. Shoppers are invited to grab a cup of java, a latte or an espresso from Brooklyn-based Partners Coffee at the cafe that sits right at the entrance to the store.
3. A Slew of Unique Products Can Only Be Found at This Location
A ton of locally-made products are making their debut at the new downtown destination, including tomato sauce by Matriark, a New Jersey-based business that uses three million pounds of surplus tomatoes from a grower in Virginia to create its products, and CHKP, a plant-based yogurt that just recently launched.
4. Location, Location, Location (and a Secret Red Room!)
One Wall Street is, mostly, a residential building, where some of the most expensive and opulent apartments in New York will be up for sale.
On the ground level, though, Whole Foods will share space with luxury health club and gym Life Time and Printemps, a high-end French department store that has chosen the location as the site of its first-ever store in the United States. To enter the latter destination, folks get to walk through the beautiful Red Room, a hidden art gem that has been closed to the public for years but will soon be accessible again.
Referred to by its moniker because of the interior red and gold mosaics that were designed by famous artist Hildreth Meière, the Red Room is a former private banking hall that was only available to the wealthiest clients of the bank (the building is also known as the Bank of New York Building).
Once Printemps debuts, you'll be able to take a walk through the space... perhaps before or after a shopping excursion at Whole Foods!