As part of its effort to shake its “whole paycheck” stigma, Whole Foods Market is bringing its new lower-priced concept store to Fort Greene.
The supermarket chain plans to open its first 365 by Whole Foods Market store in the tristate area at the base of Two Trees Management Company’s 300 Ashland Place, a 35-story tower next to the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The 43,000-square-foot store will occupy two stories of the tower and will open in early 2018, the Wall Street Journal reported.
So far, the Austin, Texas-based chain has opened three lower-priced stores and has plans for 20 more; the stores carry the same quality goods as regular-priced Whole Foods markets, but the no-frills shops emphasize self-service to offer lower prices.
Two Trees [TRDataCustom] designed a 17-foot-high lower level at Ashland Place with Whole Foods Market in mind, principal Jed Walentas told the Journal. The tower has 50,000 square feet of space that will house four BAM Cinema screens, the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts and a brand of the Brooklyn Public Library.
“All of the great space in this project is about the public and about making this a better district,” he said.
In November, Apple inked a 10-year lease for a 12,000-square-foot store at 300 Ashland. [WSJ] — E.B. Solomont