Local wine, outdoor café, éclairs, pho, house-smoked BBQ and 28 feet of pizza highlight the lineup
EMERYVILLE, Calif., 2015-5-6 — /EPR Retail News/ — When Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ: WFM) opens its 43rd Northern California (NorCal) store on May 20 in Dublin, shoppers will find a 40,000-square-foot lifestyle emporium designed for food discovery and connection with family, friends and neighbors.
On opening day, from 7 to 10 a.m., he Allegro Coffee Roasters truck will offer free coffee. Opening festivities will start at 9:45 a.m., with a community welcome and a bread-breaking ceremony; the doors open at 10. Throughout the day various samples—including grilled meats, halibut and Juice Beauty skin care products—will be available. Shoppers can also sip wines presented by the Livermore Valley Wine Organization.
Unique to Whole Foods Market Dublin
The store will be home to one of Whole Foods Market NorCal’s largest prepared foods departments. At the center of the department is Dublin Vine, a wine tasting and tap room with three wines and 12 beers on tap, plus more than 50 wines by the glass. Many are Tri-Valley wines, including Steven Kent Winery, Retzlaff Estate Winery, Las Positas Vineyards and more. Dublin Vine’s local brews come from Ale Industries, Calicraft Brewing, Drake’s Brewing Company and Altamont Beer Works. The indoor bar area accommodates 64 guests, and outside there is space for 100. The outdoor patio has a fire pit and open space for performances. The store expects to host local live music, presentations and family activities.
Additionally, Dublin Vine offers a pub style menu with salads, smoked chicken wings, cheese and charcuterie plates, personal pizzas, and noodle bowls. Some of the newest “pub food” options at Whole Foods Market are dip sandwiches: a traditional French dip with au jus, and a Vietnamese banh mi with miso dipping sauce.
Within the prepared foods department, customers can get quick and easy meals:
· A 28-foot pizza venue serves up classic round pizzas in signature flavors (Forest Fungi, Pesto Potato, Alpine Pig) and build-your-own, takeaway pizzas, as well as empanadas, pizza bagels, calzones, French bread pizzas and pigs-in-a-blanket. Vegan pizzas are also on the menu, and Health Starts Here flatbreads made without added oil, sugar or salt are available in vegan pad Thai and barbecue chicken flavors.
· The Nona Lim noodle bar, stocked entirely with products made by Oakland’s own Lim, a Whole Foods Market Local Producer Loan recipient, offers ramen and pho with premade and build-your-own options. Premade noodle dishes include beef pho, chicken shoyu ramen, miso ramen and Tonkatsu ramen. Build-your-own invites customers to select noodles, broth, protein, seasonings and garnishes, with everything from tofu to beef to pork belly.
· A barbecue bar is filled with American-style brisket, ribs and smoked bacon macaroni and cheese, and Korean-style beef and kimchi mashed potatoes.
· Whole Foods Market’s classic Prepared Foods lineup, including the chef’s case, sandwiches, burritos, salad bar, hot bar, soups, and grab-and-go meal kits.
New in the bakery: Move over, macarons. Éclairs are the dessert du jour in the bakery world. Long, delicate, slender shells are made locally, toasted in store and filled with one of 10 flavors: pistachio, coffee, blackberry, lemon merengue, strawberry, hazelnut chocolate, classic, coconut, vanilla, and caramel. Some fillings come from Rubicon Bakery, a Bay Area operation that trains and provides jobs for people who need a second chance – recently coming from life on the streets, out of prisons or with substance abuse problems.
Also new for the Dublin bakery will be freshly boiled and baked bagels and farm-to-mill-to-baker hearth breads, and a wide selection of gluten-free and vegan baked goods. Plus, small and large cakes are available with customized decorating. Seasonally, customers can find baked-from-scratch pies with all-butter crusts and locally sourced fruit, as well as fresh-baked brownies, cookies, cupcakes and gluten-free and vegan baked goods.
A regional- and store-based purchasing model means Whole Foods Market Dublin can curate a product mix specifically for Tri-Valley shoppers. The store will carry Livermore Valley wines, plus Olivina olive oils (Livermore Valley), JK Naturals soaps (Dublin) and Golnazar Ice Cream (San Ramon) and many more from the Bay Area and California.
Additional Innovations & Quality Standards by Department:
Meat – One of two in-house smokers will produce smoked pork and poultry. The large meat counter will include such special offerings as Non-GMO Project verified fresh pork, local Panorama organic grass-fed and grass-finished beef, and Country Natural grain-finished beef from cattle that have never been in a feedlot. Customers can choose grab-and-go seasoned and marinated meats, house-made sausages, Non-GMO-fed and organic chickens from Mary’s (Fresno), local Pozzi grass-fed lamb, and Diestel Ranch turkeys.
Whole Foods Market’s strict quality standards for meat mean all animals are raised on a vegetarian diet without being administered antibiotics or added growth hormones.* All beef, pork, chicken and turkey carried in the fresh and pre-packaged cases at all Whole Foods Market stores in the U.S. comes from farms that are rated according to Global Animal Partnership’s 5-Step™ Animal Welfare Rating program.
Seafood – The second in-house smoker is dedicated to salmon, trout and other seafood. At the Dublin seafood counter, shoppers will find an expanded shellfish shelf, featuring local options like Dungeness crab (in season) and “Responsibly Farmed” mollusks year-round. The department will offer the company’s classic selection of fresh and frozen fish, as well as marinades, sauces, seasonings and herbs.
All seafood is brought to the counter with sustainability in mind. Farmed seafood adheres to the company’s strict aquaculture standards. Wild-caught species come from fisheries certified by the Marine Stewardship Council or are yellow- or green-rated by the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Program.
Produce – Dublin will be the first Whole Foods Market store in Northern California to exclusively carry made-in-house cold pressed juices. A wide selection of organic items will be available, with pre-cut fruit and vegetables “Made Right Here” (in store, including faux noodles made from zucchini and other veggies). Whole Foods Market carries the highest quality “Responsibly Grown” produce with more than half of all available products sourced annually from local growers like Perry Farms and Pinnacle Farms. The Responsibly Grown seal indicates the environmental commitment of the grower; visit WholeFoodsMarket.com for more information. Shoppers can also choose bananas, mangoes, peppers and pineapples with the Whole Trade seal, which indicates Whole Foods Market’s commitment to offering the highest quality fairly traded goods that ensure fair and ethical treatment for farm workers.
Whole Body – The store’s Whole Body section features an expanded makeup and nail care section. Whole Foods Market’s lifestyle and body care section always offers mineral makeup and premium quality facial care, organic apparel and sustainable accessories, books on nutrition and healthy eating, plus supplements and protein powders.
Grocery –Customers can choose from hundreds of 365 Everyday Value™ products, locally made packaged goods, frozen meals, a new line of natural Whole Paws pet food products, and home and cleaning products bearing the Eco-Scale label, indicating environmental impact. The bulk section offers dozens of grains, flours, nuts, spices and candies available by the pound.
Specialty – Cheesemongers can help shoppers navigate the store’s selection of hundreds of cheeses from Northern California and around the world, plus more than 40 olive and antipasti mixes, small-batch and gourmet chocolates, jams, spreads and local finds.
Juice and Coffee Bar – Caffeine and juice are available all day, with freshly brewed espresso and coffee daily from Allegro®, fresh juices and smoothies.
Missions & Community Support
Community Giving
Led by store team leader Allen Culp and marketing team leader Paul Barron, the Dublin team kicked off its community support efforts in April with a donation to Dublin Partners in Education via a Facebook “Likes for Donations” campaign (Facebook: Whole Foods Market Dublin). The store will continue giving back to Tri-Valley nonprofits once open with a series of giving days, with 1 percent of each day’s sales benefiting a local charity. Recipients are Dublin United Soccer League, Valley Children’s Museum, Open Heart Kitchen, Dougherty Elementary School and Valley Humane Society. In addition, Whole Foods Market Dublin customers who bring their own grocery bags will have the opportunity to donate a 5-cent refund per bag to the School of Imagination or Tri-Valley YMCA as part of the company’s Nickels for Nonprofits program.
Green Building
In line with Whole Foods Market’s commitment to eco-friendly projects, this store was built with the environment in mind. HVAC systems are notorious for drawing significant amounts of energy from public grids; the Dublin store exceeds Title 24 requirements for efficiency and features an innovative indirect cooling system that will greatly reduce dependency on public energy sources. Ninety-nine percent of the store’s lights are high-efficiency LED, and the refrigeration system runs entirely on natural refrigerants. The store has a “modern farmhouse” look with reclaimed wood and tin, aged metals and colorful chalkboards.
Store Tours – Customers can visit the store Web page or follow Whole Foods Market Dublin on Facebook to find out about public value tours, guides to shopping for nutritional lifestyles (gluten-free, Paleo, vegan etc.). Private tours can be arranged by request.
Nuts & Bolts
Wi-Fi – free throughout store
Kids Club – children ages 2 through 8 are eligible to receive a free treat.
Electric Car Chargers – four total: two level three fast chargers and two level two chargers. These will be managed by eVgo, and vehicle owners will pay for use.
Catering – available for local businesses and events.
Store Information
Whole Foods Market Dublin
5200 Dublin Blvd., Dublin, CA 94568
Tel. 925-452-2226
Hours: 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily
Store Team Leader: Allen Culp
Store Marketing and Community Team Leader: Paul Barron
Web: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/dublin-ca
Facebook: facebook.com/WholeFoodsMarketDublin
Instagram: @WholeFoodsMarketDublin
*Federal regulations prohibit the use of hormones in raising pork and poultry.