The wait is over for Whole Foods fans at the beaches.
The supermarket opened Wednesday, Oct. 7, after plans to bring it to the Pablo Plaza shopping center were originally announced in 2015.
The 40,000-square-foot store at 2050 S. 3rd St. in Jacksonville Beach includes:
- A sushi and wok station from Genji, offering what Whole Foods calls fresh and sustainable sushi.
- Selection of more than 400 wines and 150 beers, including options from local producers like Bold City Brewery, Intuition Ale Works and Island Grove Winery. The department also features an exclusive Hoard the Love Northeast IPA from Engine 15 Brewing Company.
- Produce department, including selections from local growers like Ecoripe Tropicals and Lipman Family Farms. The department also carries a range of items with Whole Foods Market’s Whole Trade Guarantee, which the supermarket says supports suppliers that are committed to ethical trade, working conditions and the environment.
- Full-service butcher featuring grass-fed and dry-aged beef, made-in-house sausages, burgers and locally sourced meats from Adams Ranch.
- Seafood counter with made-in-house seafood burgers, marinated shrimp and smoked salmon. All offerings are either sustainably wild-caught or responsibly farmed, according to Whole Foods. Local options include spiny lobster from Keys Fisheries and Key West pink shrimp from Cox’s Seafood.
- Specialty department includes local products like mozzarella from Mozzarita and chocolate from 5150 Chocolate Co., as well as a selection of cheese overseen by an in-store American Cheese Society-certified professional.
- Bakery serving pies, cakes, pastries and items for special diets, as well as selections from local bakeries such as Cookies By Shar, Cosa Duci Italian Bakery and Simply Delicious Cafe & Bakery.
- Wellness and beauty section includes local products like RSP Nutrition immunity & hydration shots, soap from Lolablue Living and coconut oil from Conscious Coconut.
Whole Foods says, in total, it is stocking more than 800 local products throughout the store from more than 150 local suppliers, including Olive My Pickle, Old Florida Gourmet Products and The Hyppo, known for its handmade ice pops.
The supermarket is owned by Amazon. Amazon Prime members who shop at Whole Foods Market have access to Amazon Prime-only discounts on selected products each week and an additional 10% off hundreds of in-store sale items.
Store hours are 8 a.m.- 9 p.m. Masks are required to enter.
Wednesday’s opening marks the second Whole Foods location in Jacksonville. The supermarket’s other local store is located at the Mandarin Landing shopping center at 10601 San Jose Blvd. in Jacksonville.
Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods Market employs more than 95,000 people. It has 487 stores in the U.S., 14 in Canada and seven in in the United Kingdom.
It was founded in 1980 when Safer Way Natural Foods and Clarksville Natural Grocery joined together to open a Whole Foods Market in Austin with a staff of 19.
Additional information is on the Whole Foods Jacksonville Beach website.
Correction: Whole Foods originally announced in a news release that free delivery would be available at the Jacksonville Beach store to area Amazon Prime customers. Whole Foods reached out to WJCT News Thursday afternoon with an update, saying that free delivery for Amazon Prime members is in fact not available at the Jacksonville Beach store.
Bill Bortzfield can be reached at bbortzfield@wjct.org or on Twitter at @BortzInJax.
