Whole Foods Picks Vernon Hills Over Lake Forest

Tim Moran contributed to this article

A new Whole Foods Market is coming to the northern suburbs, but will likely open in Vernon Hills rather than Lake Forest.

The city of Lake Forest announced Friday they learned of the company’s decision to pursue a location near several major retail centers in Vernon Hills earlier this week.

The other option for the company was to open on the south side of Route 60 in Lake Forest’s Amberley Woods development, where the City Council endorsed a site plan which would have paved the way for the upscale grocer to open.

Vernon Hills Village Manager John Kalmar said the grocery store had expressed interest in moving to the village but there was no official paperwork or permit applications completed so far, according to the Chicago Tribune.

“We haven’t heard anything in a formal capacity, but we’d certainly welcome them into town,” he told the Chicago Tribune.