Whole Foods Market
Opened: 2019
Previous Tenants: none
Location: 60 Waterview Blvd, Parsippany, NJ
Photographed: January 2020
We are arriving at our second-to-last Parsippany stop at Waterview Boulevard and route 46! The store opened in November 2019 as a new-built location at 48,000 square feet. In fact, it was one of the original tenants in the Waterview Marketplace which opened at the same time. Now, I do find the exterior very attractive, but why is the main sign not at the top of the facade (where the now open banner is)? I assume the size of the signage is due to zoning regulations, but at least it could be located better to mark the main entrance there on the left.
Produce lines the left of the store, with HABA and bulk in the first few aisles and bakery, dairy, then meat/seafood on the back wall. Frozen is in the second-to-last aisle, and the deli/prepared foods aisle at the far right of the store. Note that, unlike nearly every (suburban) Whole Foods I've been to, bakery is with produce, not deli.
Also notice the customization in bakery, of adding a counter for fresh baked naan -- something not even the various Indian supermarkets in the area have.
Here's a look across the back wall, with bulk and HABA in the grocery aisles to the right. Dairy is next to bakery on the back wall. As spacious as the store is, you do get a real sense that it's on the smaller side for this type of store. You know what I mean? Obviously it's larger than some of the urban CTowns and similar stores we've seen, but it has the feeling of a larger store but in reality it's not that big.
I love the cases. Obviously, everything is brand new here. The store is undoubtedly beautiful and very bright and airy feeling, which is helped by the skylights.
The seafood and butcher counter, which takes up roughly half the back wall of the store, is pretty spectacular. The selection is thoroughly impressive and I love the decor here, especially the wood overhang.
The back half of frozen foods, and the front half...
The only thing that confuses me is why Whole Foods still consistently uses coffin cases for frozen foods.
The cheese department here in the back corner has a huge sign but a surprisingly small floor area. Kitchen is up next, with a huge sign and selection...
And the pizza oven is in the front corner.
One of the things that Whole Foods does exceptionally well (and I think Food Bazaar also does an excellent job of this) is selecting materials for their store designs. The facilities are beautiful because of the wood, the metal, and the concrete, and so on. Plus, of course, the large windows and good lighting. That especially comes across in this shot of the front-end...
And that's all for this very beautiful store, but before we head out of Parsippany we'll be taking a trip down south of route 46 to Lake Parsippany for a small independent store on The Independent Edition tomorrow!
As always, great job on taking the photos of this store. It's remarkable how different the inside of this store looks when compared to the Morristown location.
ReplyDeleteI honestly thought this was among the largest Whole Foods in the chain, but I read on the internet that the average size of a Whole Foods store is approximately 40,000 square feet. Based on the results of a Google search, the largest store in the chain is at 525 North Lamar Boulevard in Austin, TX. The store is a massive 80,000 square feet in size, and interestingly enough, Whole Foods' corporate headquarters is located above the store. By contrast, the smallest location in the chain is only about 8,000 square feet in size. That particular Whole Foods is located at 1028 Beacon Street in Brookline, MA.
--A&P Fan
I LOVE the Beacon Street location and in, oh, anywhere from a couple of months to a couple of years, we'll actually be getting up to that area and we'll see that store. Such a cool little place!
DeleteThey aren't the only ones who do that with frozen food - Trader Joe's does as well, at least they did here. The store is a few years old now, but not as old as the other stores that you often still see those type cases in that have just never been replaced.
ReplyDeleteAs to the sign, which is actually supposed to be the main entry? The right side has the larger sign, so maybe that is what they were thinking as the main way bringing you into the prepared foods? (While the left side is a smaller extra entry?)
Ours is a bit different, since it was one that took out a corner of a (then existing) Sears location in a mall, so the entry is basically all on the corner, though you can come in from both sides but it all leads into one entryway.
Hmm, interesting. I'm used to seeing the main entrance into produce, but I guess the truth is that the store is designed so that there isn't a real main entrance.
Delete"The only thing that confuses me is why Whole Foods still consistently uses coffin cases for frozen foods."
ReplyDeleteIt is very confusing especially when considering how they have switched to using dairy cases with doors. And of course, the open coffin cases don't fit so well with their environmentally friendly stance. My only guess is they like to have an open air frozen food dept so shoppers can clearly view the entire selection from both aisles.
That would make sense for sure. But don't you think those cool new coffin cases with doors on top would fit in better?
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