TOUR: Whole Foods Market - Shrewsbury, MA

Whole Foods Market

Opened: 2018

Previous Tenants: none

Cooperative: none

Location: 193 Boston Tpk, Shrewsbury, MA

Photographed: November 10, 2018

It was certainly a beautiful sunset over this Whole Foods when I visited back in 2018, but let me tell you -- it was REALLY cold. I remember bundling up and still freezing my behind off waiting for the bus. So don't let the beautiful sky fool you.

But enough about that! This Whole Foods was built in 2018 on the site of a former locally-famous department store called Spag's (but no bags at Spag's, famously). Read all about the history of Spag's on Wikipedia, MassLive, the Shrewsbury Historical Society, and the T&G. And now that you're familiar with that, let's tour the Whole Foods!

It's a bit of an unusual setup with the store's back facing Boston Turnpike, and the front of the 40,000 square foot supermarket faces into Lakeway Commons, the mall surrounding it. Because of the varied terrain, there are a few levels of the Lakeway Commons and the streets around it.

Here's a look at the store's side facing Boston Turnpike...

Let's head in! The first thing we notice about the space: the original Spag's sign (spelled here, oddly, as Spags) remains! The tall neon sign has been restored and now overlooks the produce department rather than Boston Turnpike's traffic.

And this Whole Foods store has some really great decor going on, too, alongside the historical interest.

Beautiful -- and it's great that they were able to keep the sign and preserve it inside the new store!

In a pretty typical layout, produce and cheese are on the right side. (In this store, wines are also near cheese.) Dairy, meat, and seafood are on the back wall, with deli, prepared foods, and bakery on the left side. There's a second-floor cafe, too.

This Whole Foods has what the Shaw's across Boston Turnpike lacks: big, bold, exciting decor.

The wine department is a nice addition, and something that's pretty uncommon in Whole Foods in this area. In both Massachusetts and New Jersey -- the only two states I've lived in -- local laws make selling wines or any kind of alcohol inside a supermarket difficult to impossible, so it's always a bit jarring to see wine in supermarkets for me.

In addition to the very warehouse-type shelving in the middle of the floor, a really beautiful glass case lines the outside of the department with wines displayed on a large rack.

And moving out of this corner (to the left of cheese), we enter dairy. Another great nod to Spag's on the wall here!

HABA is in the first aisle. I really love this setup, and I think the flooring, fixtures, and lighting come together for a great look.

A look across the grocery aisles.

Center Plate is a large meat and seafood department taking up the rest of the back wall of the store. Looking really good, too!

And deli/prepared foods in the last aisle, of course.

Looking towards the back...

...and a great retro teal bakery is in the front corner.

Check out these self-service cookies and cupcakes! I'm not sure if this setup made it through the coronavirus.

Single-serve drinks here, too. Pretty darn well-stocked (and faced)...

And here's a look across the front-end...

There's a cafe in this curved section on the first floor, and then upstairs, there's another seating area with the Borgatti Bar, named after the Borgatti family that owned Spag's.

This is a beautiful setup, too! I'm not sure whether they still do (I wouldn't be surprised if the coronavirus knocked this out, too), but when they first opened, this area had its own separate food menu and functioned as a somewhat autonomous restaurant.

And, of course, we get some amazing views from the Borgatti Bar! Looking down the deli/prepared foods aisle at the left side of the store...

...and across the grocery aisles...

...and back over to the produce department.

And Whole Foods definitely went all-in on the Spag's nostalgia for this location!

For that reason, and because it seems to be a well-run, well-thought-out store that's really beautiful and even nicer than most Whole Foods I'm used to, I really loved this store.

A small independent grocer recently opened just east of here on Boston Turnpike. Let's check it out tomorrow!