EMERYVILLE, Calif. (August 20, 2007). Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ: WFMI), the world's leading natural and organic foods supermarket and America's first national certified organic retailer, will open its largest store in the western United States on Wednesday, August 22nd at 9 a.m. The new Cupertino store is located at 20955 Stevens Creek Blvd., between Stelling and De Anza, and the original Whole Foods Market in Cupertino, just down the street at 20830 Stevens Creek Blvd., will close on August 18.
“We are thrilled to be opening Northern California's flagship store,” says Anthony Gilmore, regional president for the Northern California region of Whole Foods Market. “Our customers as well as the city have been very supportive and enthusiastic about our new store, which is filled with some very exciting first-time features. While we are always innovating and trying new concepts, we continue to uphold our steadfast tradition of offering only the highest quality, freshest, best tasting food and products available and make it a top priority to seek out locally-produced foods.”
The official opening of the new Cupertino Whole Foods Market will kick off with a bread-breaking ceremony at 8:45 a.m. on Wednesday, August 22nd, before the doors open at 9am. The event will feature Whole Foods Market Regional President Anthony Gilmore, Mayor Kris Wang of Cupertino, Whole Foods Market Store Team Leader Scott Sherman and the new Whole Foods Market Cupertino team.
Throughout the opening day, Whole Foods Market will treat shoppers to a celebration featuring a guest appearance by renowned Bay Area Chef Paul Bertolli, local musical entertainment including a local children's orchestra, store front grilling, food samples, hors d'oeuvres and class information given out at the Whole Foods Market Culinary Center, balloon artistry, and complimentary, reusable Whole Foods Market Green Bags™ given to the first 1,000 customers with purchase. Additionally on opening day, there will be a raffle for a giant gift basket filled with a variety of products from Whole Foods Market's family of house brands ($500 value). All funds raised will benefit Cupertino Community Services, a local organization that provides a continuum of basic needs, family services and housing services for West Valley communities.
The new store includes many new and innovative features, many of which were brought about by the Whole Foods Market regional leadership team who has spent months in the community looking at ways to best serve their customers. Highlights include:
- Market Bistro dine-in venue (open from 11a.m. to 8p.m. daily.) offering made-to-order foods, including sandwiches, soups, salads and light entrées
- Whole Foods Market Culinary Center, offering cooking and lifestyle classes
- Over 200 seats for indoor and outdoor dining
- Permanent sampling and demo station
- Free wireless internet access
Prepared Foods
- Cupertino Carvery and Salad Toss
- Dim sum bar
- Wood-fired pizza oven
- Expanded sushi section
- Hot teriyaki bowls
Produce
- Bountiful bins of hand-stacked fruits and vegetables, much of which are organic, and well represented by local growers
- Full line of local, exotic and staple Asian products like Thai papayas, fragrant pears, sui choy and yua choy sum
- Full service cut fruit/cut vegetable bar
- Expanded floral section including a reach-in cooler of beautiful arrangements
Meat
- Widest selection of the best tasting, freshest, high quality meat raised to the strictest standards in the industry
- Over 20 types of handmade sausage
- In-store smoker to smoke ribs, brisket, sausage and more
- Tender dry-aged beef, dry-aged in the store the old-fashioned way
Seafood
- Large selection of live shellfish
- Varieties of whole fish
- Oven-ready items such as pre-skewered shrimp and grill-ready fish wrapped in cedar papers or banana leaves.
- A seafood salad bar will feature grab-and-go salads, seafood cocktails and specialty items such as jicama peach shrimp salad.
Specialty
- Over 1,100 wine varieties
- 80 local wines from the Santa Cruz Mountains and Monterey appellations
- Multiple vintages of Cupertino's own Ridge Cellars Montebello and Lytton Springs wines
- Over 250 hand crafted ales, lagers, and ciders
- Over 400 artisan and everyday cheeses, olive/antipasti bar, charcuterie, chocolates and confectionary
- Hard-to-find specialty spices, peppers, and sea salts from around the globe
Bakery
- Rustic, European-style hearth breads
- Pastries, cakes, cookies, pies, desserts and more baked fresh daily using the highest quality, all natural ingredients.
- Island serving coffee, ice cream, gelato, candy and chocolate dipped goodies
Grocery
- Whole Foods Market's own family of brands: Whole Foods Market 365 Everyday Value™, Whole Foods Market 365 Organic Everyday Value™, Whole Kitchen™, Whole Pantry™ and much more
- Products to accommodate special diets, including a gluten-free section
- Wide selection of world foods
- Eight-foot olive oil and balsamic vinegar tasting station
- Expanded pet and household essentials cleaning section
Whole Body
- Highest quality, cruelty-free facial, skin and body care as well as vitamins, supplements, herbs
- Full line of organic eco-apparel and dressing room
- On-site esthetician
- Relaxing chair massage
- Whole Baby section offering apparel, toys and body care items
Whole Foods Market is a mission-driven company that offers natural and organic foods that must adhere to its strict quality standards and pass the taste tests of its food experts. All foods at Whole Foods Market must be free of artificial preservatives, colors, flavors, sweeteners and hydrogenated oils. Whole Foods Market's emphasis on the highest quality and best-tasting fresh, local produce, chef-prepared foods, baked goods, flavorful meats, sparkling seafood, and natural personal care products, appeal to a variety of customers from the health-conscious to the aspiring gourmet. It also appeals to many individuals who have chosen to become Whole Foods Market Team Members.
“Our Team Members have always been passionate about sharing their knowledge about the joys of great-tasting food and natural lifestyle choices,” says Scott Sherman, Store Team Leader. “In our new store customers will see the familiar faces of our long-time Cupertino store team members to help them find what they're looking for, along with the many new team members we've hired from the surrounding community.”
In keeping with the company's tradition of local community and environmental support, Whole Foods Market has already made a significant impact on the Cupertino community. Organizations such as Cupertino Community Services, the local YMCA, The Cherry Blossom Festival, and local schools have all received substantial support from the company in the past several years. Each quarter, Whole Foods Market holds “Five Percent Days,” in which five percent of its sales for the day benefit a local non-profit organization. On Tuesday, September 25th the new store will hold its first Five Percent Day, which will benefit the Fremont Union High School Foundation.
“We believe strongly in giving back to our communities, whether it is contributing to the local school system, providing a food basket for a fundraising auction, or donating our time to a local nonprofit organization such as Cupertino Community Services,” says Sherman. “We are really pleased to have the opportunity to continue to serve this great community.”
Environmentally-friendly building materials have been used extensively in the construction of the new store including tile made from 50 percent post-consumer and post-industrial waste, recycled glass, bamboo, recycled steel, low VOC (volatile organic compounds) paint, concrete made with fly ash, insulation made from recycled blue jean scraps, and more. Energy-efficient lighting sets the mood in the store, water use is reduced through flow sensors, and low-flow sinks and toilets were installed. The refrigeration and heating systems operate with energy-efficiency as well. In fact, Whole Foods Market has purchased enough clean, sustainable American wind energy credits to offset 100 percent of the electricity used in the store. Waste will be minimized through store composting and recycling programs.
Regular store hours for the new Cupertino store, the 21st Whole Foods Market in Northern California, will be 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., open for breakfast at 7 a.m., seven days per week. The phone number will transfer from the original Cupertino Whole Foods Market, which is (408) 257-7000. The other 20 stores in Northern California are located in Berkeley, Campbell, Fresno, Los Altos, Los Gatos, Mill Valley, Monterey, Palo Alto, Petaluma, Redwood City, Sacramento, San Francisco (two locations), San Mateo, San Rafael, San Ramon, Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, Sonoma and Walnut Creek. For a complete list of store locations, visit www.wholefoodsmarket.com.
