Whole Foods Market opens newest B.C. store in Burnaby
Whole Foods Market opens newest B.C. store in Burnaby
Whole Foods Market will opened its doors in Burnaby, BC, on Thursday, Jan. 28. The 41,000-square-foot store, located in the Solo District, is the first Whole Foods Market in the city of Burnaby and the fifth store location in British Columbia.
“For more than 10 years, we’ve had really wonderful relationships with the neighborhoods we serve in British Columbia, and we’re excited to continue our growth in Burnaby,” Joe Rogoff, president of Whole Foods Market’s Pacific Northwest Region, said in a press release. “Our team members, many of whom come from this community, have been working hard to design a store that reflects what Burnaby residents tell us they want and need. This is a beautiful and exciting store, and I think shoppers will agree that it was worth the wait.”
Shoppers visiting Whole Foods Market’s Burnaby store can look forward to a full-service experience that includes a produce department that offers an expanded variety of international fruits and vegetables.
Other store highlights include:
- Top-notch customer service: more than 230 new team members were hired for this store, many from the local Burnaby community and surrounding areas.
- On top of more than 200 local vendors that shoppers already find in all British Columbia Whole Foods Market stores, more than 30 products from new British Columbia vendors, added as a result of Whole Foods Market’s local producer fair held in May 2015.
- A spacious juice bar created in partnership with Burnaby-based Vega.
During the grand opening festivities, Whole Foods Market presented Le Gateau Bake Shop with a $66,000 Local Producer Loan. At present, Whole Foods Market has made four loans to British Columbia-based, independent food producers, and has contributed $279,000 to the local economy through this program alone. Past loan recipients include Tree Island Yogurt, Lina’s Garden, and GBE Chilliwack Heirloom Organic Farm.
As part of Whole Foods Market’s commitment to serving every community where it does business, the store’s team members presented a $2,000 cheque to Burnaby Community Services.
