Whole Foods Market officially opens its new 45,000 square-foot Woodbury store, located at 305 Radio Dr., Wednesday, May 24 at 9 a.m. The highly anticipated store will be a culinary destination for chefs of all skill levels and a paradise for foodies in the Woodbury community with features such as:

  1. City Place Taproom: A rotating tap of 15 local or hard-to-find beers, including favorites from Surly Brewing Company, will quench shoppers’ thirsts. For good eats, made-to-order breakfast, lunch and dinner options are available. Bacon breakfast bowl, beet burger, chicken sausage, and brisket poutine are just some of the delicious menu options available.
  2. Cold Brew On Tap: A leader in equitable and direct sourcing, Allegro Coffee Company will have cold brew on tap – just in time for summer. Located at the Coffee Bar inside the City Place Taproom, shoppers will enjoy the very best cold brew as well as light, medium and dark roasted coffees, blended beverages, and handcrafted espresso drinks from a La Marzocco Linea espresso machine.
  3. Mochi Ice Cream Bar: The latest food trend, mochi ice cream is a popular Japanese-American dessert made by covering bite-sized balls of ice cream with sweet Japanese rice dough. Shoppers can pick and choose their own flavor combinations from the self-serve case. Nine flavor options include: strawberry, vanilla bean, matcha green tea, red bean, double chocolate, black sesame, coffee, green tea, and mango.
  4. In-house Ground Sausages: Shoppers’ mouths will water with the in-house ground sausage flavors to spice up at home culinary creations. Spinach and feta, Andouille, chorizo, blueberry maple breakfast, country breakfast, spicy and mild Italian, and bratwurst options kick off opening week.
  5. Neapolitan Style Self-Service Pizza: Busy shoppers can grab a slice of Neapolitan style pizza made with unbleached and unbromated flour and cooked in less than seven minutes.
  6. Sushi: Freshly made sushi offers customers a variety of specialty rolls, including those made with brown or whole grain rice, created in-house by experts.
  7. Custom Salads and Comfort Foods: Freshly prepared salads, build-your-own salad fixings and seasonal hot entrees will add a variety to residents’ breakfast, lunch and dinner choices.
  8. Bulk Department: Novice and experienced chefs will love the dried back-to-basics pantry items. From first time recipes to the not-too-often used ingredient, the bulk department lets shoppers choose the amount they need.
  9. Wine and Cheese: More than 800 wines and over 100 varieties of natural, organic and local cheeses including local favorites from Alemar Cheese ­– wine and cheese night will never be the same.
  10. Al fresco dining: Shoppers can relax and enjoy the weather next to the outdoor fire pit with their favorite foods.

To celebrate opening day, Whole Foods Market will host its version of a ribbon cutting called a “Bread-Breaking Ceremony” with Whole Foods Market Team Members and Woodbury neighbors beginning at 8:45 a.m. Doors open and shopping officially begins at 9 a.m. The first 500 customers through the doors receive a Whole Foods Market gift card with a mystery value between $5 and $50; with one lucky customer receiving a $500 gift card.

Whole Foods Market Difference

Whole Foods Market’s unparalleled Quality Standards ensure that the food, supplements, body care and cleaning products sold meet a higher standard — one that bans more than 400 ingredients commonly found in other stores as well as numerous manufacturing, farming, fishing and ranching practices that don’t measure up; Whole Foods Market standards aren’t standard anywhere else.

Organics beyond one aisle. Whole Foods Market does more to promote organic agriculture and products in the U.S. than any other retailer. In fact, Whole Foods Market was the first national certified organic grocer after the National Organic Standards were launched. With this success, organic products are increasing in production and availability to shoppers.

Responsibly Grown farming practices. A rating system from well-regarded scientific input to rate fresh produce and flowers based on farming practices that impact environment and human health, this program bans the use of eight of the most hazardous neurotoxins allowed in U.S. agriculture, rewards growers for sustainable farming practices and helps shoppers make more informed produce and floral choices.

Animal Welfare standards and transparency. From how animals are raised to freshness and flavor, Whole Foods Market works with producers to continually assess and improve standards. Ranches and farms producing meat for Whole Foods Market must meet these rigorous animal welfare standards, and processing facilities must pass annual third-party audits that assess animal welfare and food safety. In addition to species-specific standards, Whole Foods Market has general animal welfare standards that ensure animals have enough space to perform normal behaviors and that prohibit confinement or tethering that prevents freedom of movement.

Wild-caught Seafood, sustainably sourced. Working with scientists, fishermen, government agencies and environmental organizations such as the Marine Stewardship Council to gather information about aquaculture and wild-capture fisheries, Whole Foods Market experts ensure customers can make the best environmental choices when purchasing seafood. To promote responsible fishing, the wild-caught seafood is certified sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council or rated either  “Green” or “Yellow” by Monterey Bay Aquarium and The Safina Center. Whole Foods Market does not sell seafood from red-rated fisheries and prohibits treating seafood with preservatives. It looks fresh, because it is fresh.

Farmed seafood, done right. Recognized by the Responsibly Farmed logo, Whole Foods Market provides a consistent, high quality, year-round supply of healthy and delicious protein, raised by farmers who are leaders in environmentally responsible aquaculture. Created after intensive, multi-year processes that included extensive research on fish and mollusk farming, review of all the best available science, consultation with the top scientists and environmental organizations, and visits to farms worldwide, Whole Foods Market Responsibly Farmed seafood program allows shoppers to make conscious choices when purchasing farmed seafood.

Whole Foods Market has six additional locations in Minnesota including Minnetonka at 1001 Plymouth Rd.; Edina at 7401 France Ave. S.; Maple Grove at 12201 Elm Creek Blvd. N.; St. Paul at 1575 Selby Ave.; and two locations in Minneapolis at 3060 Excelsior Blvd and 222 Hennepin Ave.