Whole Foods opens in Brighton: Check out the packed scene
It’s been a long time coming, but the Rochester area’s first Whole Foods Market opened Wednesday at 2740 Monroe Ave., Brighton, after a heading off multiple lawsuits from opponents who said they were concerned about the business’ impact on traffic.
An 11th-hour legal attempt to halt the supermarket’s grand opening was denied by a judge late Tuesday.
Quietly backing the years-long litigation financially was Wegmans Food Markets, which has its flagship location less than a mile away in Pittsford.
Whole Foods is best known for selling organic products and keeping processed food off its shelves.
Hundreds of shoppers lined up outside the Brighton store before dawn, quickly depleting a tote-bag giveaway for the first 500 people through the door.
By 9 a.m., the parking lot — where a crew of security guards directed traffic — was pretty full. Although even then customers were coming and going, and we didn’t have trouble finding a space.
Inside, Paul and Candice Rogers of Rochester were among the people taking in the scene.
“I do all the cooking at home, so I go to grocery stores all the time,” said Paul, a retiree. “It’s kind of my pastime.”
He said he shops a lot at Trader Joe’s in Pittsford Plaza, and also at ALDI and Tops Friendly Markets. “But I wanted to come and see what all the hoopla was all about and see how bad the traffic was going to be — and it’s not bad.”
Said Candice, “The traffic is no worse out there than it ever is. It’s the perfect-size store. And I like that it’s really, really light and bright.”
“And they have different things,” Paul said. “They’ve got huge clams casino. I mean, there’s only two of them in here,” he said, lifting a package from his cart. “We’re treating ourselves.”
The 50,000-square-foot store — the anchor of a $39 million plaza developed by Daniele Family Companies — is the 56th in the Northeast and the 27th in New York state, said John Lawson, senior local forager for Whole Foods.
The only other western New York store is in Amherst, Erie County.
Regular hours for the Brighton location, near Interstate 590, are 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
There are eight self-checkout stations and six staffed checkout lanes, and they’re equipped with Amazon’s “One” palm-scanner contactless payment technology. (Amazon bought Whole Foods in 2017 for $13.7 billion.)
Available to Amazon Prime members, it uses a near-infrared light to read vein patterns under the skin, which are as unique as fingerprints.
Grocery delivery for Prime members will be available starting in two weeks, said Whole Foods spokesperson Veronica Delia.
They also will get discounts on select products.
Lawson estimated that the Brighton store has roughly 30,000 items in inventory, 20% and 30% of which are under Whole Foods’ less-expensive house brand, 365.
“An interesting thing to note about our 365 brand is it’s a great value to our customers, but our 365 brand actually competes with the other brands in our stores.” And if a branded version of a particular product consistently performs better, the 365 version may be discontinued, he said.
More than 500 items at the Brighton store are produced regionally or locally. Among the made-in-Rochester products are coffee from Bold & Gritty, sauces from Rubino’s Italian Foods, pasta from Bozza’s and kombucha from Katboocha. The store also has partnered with Village Bakery & Café to provide baguettes, sourdough and table batard, among other items.
Rochester’s Swiftwater Brewing, Fifth Frame Brewing and Strangebird are among roughly 200 craft beer brands sold. Whole Foods also has a selection of nonalcoholic beers, including Guinness 0.
The store’s mid-century modern-style interior design leans into Rochester history as the birthplace of popular photography and Eastman Kodak. The words “Say Cheese” and an enlarged film strip depicting Rochester landmarks is featured above the specialty department.
Adjacent to the bakery are large hot and cold food bars, which on Wednesday offered options including antipasto, macaroni and cheese, roasted broccoli and poached white fish in a white sauce with capers.
Jackie Torres of Webster and her cousin Champagne Manley of Greece gave a thumbs up to the DeKopon Citrus juice. Said Manley: “We definitely wanted to try and see what they have out here … so far everything is really good."
One of the location’s more unusual features is an in-house “veggie butcher” cutting fruits and vegetables to order.
Few Whole Foods locations have them, said Delia, whose office is above the original Whole Foods store in Austin, Texas.
“I’m, like, why don’t they have that in the Texas store for me,” she said.
The Brighton location employs 128 people; 114 are local hires, and the rest transferred from other Whole Foods sites.
Founded in 1980 as a health food store, Whole Foods’ rapid expansion began in the 1990s as consumer demand for natural and organic products increased.
In a statement, the company said its food products do not contain hydrogenated fats, high-fructose corn syrup or other common flavors, colors and sweeteners. Its beauty and body care products ban nearly 200 commonly used ingredients, including phthalates, parabens and microbeads.
Pam Walker-Foley of Fairport typically shops at Wegmans and Trader Joe’s, but after visiting the Brighton Whole Foods, she said, “It’s good to have fresh business come in, and it will bring in more business for everyone in the area.”
Reporter Marcia Greenwood covers general assignments. Send story tips to mgreenwo@rocheste.gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @MarciaGreenwood.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Whole Foods opens in Brighton NY: Check out the packed scene
