South Jersey’s second Whole Foods store opened two weeks ago in Cherry Hill’s Ellisburg Shopping Center (Federal Realty). Nearby officials at Wegmans and ShopRite say they are not worried.
“We already share market space with Whole Foods in many of the communities we serve,” said a Wegmans official from their consumer affairs division.
The Ravitz family, which owns five ShopRite stores in the Cherry Hill, Marlton and Mount Laurel communities, pointed to their in-store dietitions, organic and natural foods, and gluten-free departments.
The Whole Foods location was formerly occupied by Genuardi’s. The original South Jersey Whole Foods location is in Marlton.
According to a Whole Foods regional vice president, nearly 1,300 people attended the store’s preopening tour. The store features an area for small start-ups to sell their products and gain exposure, and the parking lot has a charging station for electric cars.
In total, New Jersey has 12 Whole Foods stores and Pennsylvania has 10 (eight of which are in the Philadelphia region). There are 385 stores in the U.S., England and Canada.