Whole Foods Plans To Open Location In Stamford

STAMFORD, CT — Whole Foods, the multinational grocery store chain that specializes in natural and organic foods, is coming to Stamford.

A Whole Foods Market spokesperson confirmed to Patch that plans for a new store "are in development," but there are no details on a specific location or timeline for opening yet.

According to Whole Foods' website, the company has certain preferences for retail locations, such as:

• 200,000 people or more in a 20-minute drive time
• 25,000-50,000 square feet
• Large number of college-educated residents
• Abundant parking available for exclusive use
• Stand alone preferred, would consider complementary
• Easy access from roadways, lighted intersection
• Excellent visibility, directly off of the street
• Must be located in a high traffic area (foot and/or vehicle)

Whole Foods Market was founded in Austin, Texas in 1980, and eventually became the first certified organic national grocer.

Over the years, the company has grown in popularity as a destination for organic, natural foods with expansive seafood, meat, bakery and prepared food departments. There are now more than 500 retail and non-retail locations in the U.S., Canada and UK.

This would be the 11th Whole Foods Market in Connecticut. There are locations in Avon, Danbury, Darien, Fairfield, Glastonbury, Greenwich, Milford, Westport and West Hartford (two stores).

In 2017, Whole Foods was bought by Amazon for $13.4 billion. Late last month, Business Insider reported that Amazon was closing several of its retail chains, including Amazon Books, 4-Store and Pop Up stores, putting more of an importance on groceries and prepared foods in Whole Foods, Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go stores.

In February, Whole Foods and Amazon announced that a Whole Foods Market opened in Washington, D.C. with "Just Walk Out" technology. There is also a similar store in Sherman Oaks, Calif.

The technology allows shoppers to skip lines at the registers. Customers scan-in once they enter the store, and sensors then track which items are placed into a cart. Customers bag their own groceries, and scan-out once they leave, triggering payment and an emailed receipt.