Whole Foods Market
Opened: 2016
Whole Foods. Where do I start? It's been a while since I've posted a Whole Foods, partially because there aren't that many in this part of the state. And Whole Foods is just, well, a complicated store for me to talk about. It's been under the ownership of Amazon for several years now, and whether related to the Amazon ownership or not, they've made some pretty significant changes over the last few years. Their prices -- although still high -- are now much closer to some competitors. I am almost always happy with the 365 brand, which is frequently competitive with any other organic brand out there. But at the same time, the stores have lost some of their personality, and more concerningly, they tend to be worse-run these days. I'm seeing more empty shelves, messy displays, understaffed service counters, and the like. So it's a real tradeoff. But more often than not these days, I find myself coming away from Whole Foods happy, not disappointed. That's definitely how I felt after stopping by this Westford location.
The 45,000 square foot store was built in the late 80s or so as a Market Basket, which opened a new store across the street in 2012 but kept this store operating until 2015. Whole Foods did extensive renovations, reopening the following year. An interesting tidbit about this store: rumor has it actor Chris Evans shops at this Whole Foods, or at least that's the story the folks I know who live in Chelmsford have told me.
Although Whole Foods feels less... let's say funky than it did prior to Amazon's purchase of the chain, there's still some pretty awesome design in many of the stores.
Produce, floral, seafood, and meat are on the left side, with dairy on the back wall. HABA and bulk are in the first aisle, with cheese, deli, prepared foods, and bakery on the right side and a coffee shop in the front-right corner. In that corner, there's also a Clover Food Lab.
Food Bazaar isn't the only one who reuses pallets in their decor package. I love the design of this corner of the store! In fact, I have to say this is one of the nicest Whole Foods stores I've been in lately.
There's such attention to detail throughout this store, even right down to these beautiful light fixtures and shelving in the HABA and nonfoods aisle.
As far as I can tell, this store hasn't been renovated since it opened, but it's looking great nearly 10 years later. It still looks like a brand-new store to me.
In the front right corner, we have the cafe and bakery.
And cheese in the back right corner. Deli and prepared foods are between these two on the right side.
This is a very typical Whole Foods layout, with rows of self-service food bars in the middle.
An unusual addition is a Clover station. Clover Food Lab is a local chain of vegetarian fast-food restaurants based in Cambridge, right outside Boston and located about 22 miles southeast of here.
And looking across the front-end. Notice the Dash Cart Lane, an Amazon addition to Whole Foods that started with Amazon Fresh.
In addition to the small seating area next to the coffee shop, there's more seating along the front wall beyond the registers, in a normal Whole Foods setup.
Opened: 2016
Owner: Amazon
Previous Tenants: Market Basket (mid/late 1980s-2015)
Cooperative: none
Location: 160 Littleton Rd, Westford, MA
Photographed: August 19, 2024
Have a great weekend, and I'll see you on Monday to check out a little grocery store just east of here!
One nice thing about Whole Foods is that they now sell prepared food and bakery items through the app Too Good To Go. You reserve a bag in advance and they fill it with items that are at their sell-by date. I've done it a few times and it's definitely a gamble. The bakery bags are more reliable, in my experience.
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