Whole Foods opens its third Southern California…
Whole Foods opens its third Southern California Market 365 in Long Beach on Wednesday
Whole Foods Market 365 which will open its first store in Long Beach and eighth store nationwide on April 25. The 28,000 square foot Long Beach store will be the third Whole Foods Market 365 location in Southern California, at 3881 N. Lakewood Blvd. in the Long Beach Exchange shopping center joining Santa Monica and Silver Lake. Long Beach April 19, 2018. Photo by Brittany Murray, OCR/SCNG
By Anne Valdespino | avaldespino@scng.com | Orange County Register
PUBLISHED: April 24, 2018 at 12:01 pm | UPDATED: April 26, 2018 at 10:55 am
Media preview day at Whole Foods Market 365 which will open its first store in Long Beach and eighth store nationwide on April 25. The 28,000 square foot Long Beach store will be the third Whole Foods Market 365 location in Southern California, at 3881 N. Lakewood Blvd. in the Long Beach Exchange shopping center joining Santa Monica and Silver Lake. Long Beach April 19, 2018. Photo by Brittany Murray, OCR/SCNG
Groundwork Coffee inside the Whole Foods Market 365 will allow customers to grab a cub of coffee and breakfast. Whole Foods Market 365 will open its first store in Long Beach and eighth store nationwide on April 25. The 28,000 square foot Long Beach store will be the third Whole Foods Market 365 location in Southern California, joining Santa Monica and Silver Lake. Long Beach April 19, 2018. Photo by Brittany Murray, OCR/SCNG
Employees are busy stocking the shelves at Whole Foods Market 365 which will open its first store in Long Beach and eighth store nationwide on April 25. The 28,000 square foot Long Beach store will be the third Whole Foods Market 365 location in Southern California, at 3881 N. Lakewood Blvd. in the Long Beach Exchange shopping center joining Santa Monica and Silver Lake. Long Beach April 19, 2018. Photo by Brittany Murray, OCR/SCNG
Fresh sushi rolls by Kikka will be on the shelves at Whole Foods Market 365 which will open its first store in Long Beach and eighth store nationwide on April 25. The 28,000 square foot Long Beach store will be the third Whole Foods Market 365 location in Southern California, at 3881 N. Lakewood Blvd. in the Long Beach Exchange shopping center joining Santa Monica and Silver Lake. Long Beach April 19, 2018. Photo by Brittany Murray, OCR/SCNG
Whole Foods Market 365 will open its first store in Long Beach and eighth store nationwide on April 25. The 28,000 square foot Long Beach store will be the third Whole Foods Market 365 location in Southern California, at 3881 N. Lakewood Blvd. in the Long Beach Exchange shopping center joining Santa Monica and Silver Lake. Long Beach April 19, 2018. Photo by Brittany Murray, OCR/SCNG
L-R Rob Kline and Sean Byrne are busy stocking the shelves at Whole Foods Market 365 which will open its first store in Long Beach and eighth store nationwide on April 25. The 28,000 square foot Long Beach store will be the third Whole Foods Market 365 location in Southern California, at 3881 N. Lakewood Blvd. in the Long Beach Exchange shopping center joining Santa Monica and Silver Lake. Long Beach April 19, 2018. Photo by Brittany Murray, OCR/SCNG
Coolhaus ice cream will be on the shelves at Whole Foods Market 365 which will open its first store in Long Beach and eighth store nationwide on April 25. The 28,000 square foot Long Beach store will be the third Whole Foods Market 365 location in Southern California, at 3881 N. Lakewood Blvd. in the Long Beach Exchange shopping center joining Santa Monica and Silver Lake. Long Beach April 19, 2018. Photo by Brittany Murray, OCR/SCNG
Spinach feta danish from Larder Bakery will be on the shelves at Whole Foods Market 365 which will open its first store in Long Beach and eighth store nationwide on April 25. The 28,000 square foot Long Beach store will be the third Whole Foods Market 365 location in Southern California, at 3881 N. Lakewood Blvd. in the Long Beach Exchange shopping center joining Santa Monica and Silver Lake. Long Beach April 19, 2018. Photo by Brittany Murray, OCR/SCNG
Yellow Fever serving Asian bowls will be inside the Whole Foods Market 365 which will open its first store in Long Beach and eighth store nationwide on April 25. The 28,000 square foot Long Beach store will be the third Whole Foods Market 365 location in Southern California, at 3881 N. Lakewood Blvd. in the Long Beach Exchange shopping center joining Santa Monica and Silver Lake. Long Beach April 19, 2018. Photo by Brittany Murray, OCR/SCNG
Masienda's non-GMO plant based corn tortillas will be on the shelves at Whole Foods Market 365 which will open its first store in Long Beach and eighth store nationwide on April 25. The 28,000 square foot Long Beach store will be the third Whole Foods Market 365 location in Southern California, at 3881 N. Lakewood Blvd. in the Long Beach Exchange shopping center joining Santa Monica and Silver Lake. Long Beach April 19, 2018. Photo by Brittany Murray, OCR/SCNG
Yellow Fever serving The Saigon bowl inside the Whole Foods Market 365 which will open its first store in Long Beach and eighth store nationwide on April 25. The 28,000 square foot Long Beach store will be the third Whole Foods Market 365 location in Southern California, at 3881 N. Lakewood Blvd. in the Long Beach Exchange shopping center joining Santa Monica and Silver Lake. Long Beach April 19, 2018. Photo by Brittany Murray, OCR/SCNG
Yellow Fever serving The Californian bowl inside the Whole Foods Market 365 which will open its first store in Long Beach and eighth store nationwide on April 25. The 28,000 square foot Long Beach store will be the third Whole Foods Market 365 location in Southern California, at 3881 N. Lakewood Blvd. in the Long Beach Exchange shopping center joining Santa Monica and Silver Lake. Long Beach April 19, 2018. Photo by Brittany Murray, OCR/SCNG
Yellow Fever serving 3-lil-pig lettuce wrap appetizer inside the Whole Foods Market 365 which will open its first store in Long Beach and eighth store nationwide on April 25. The 28,000 square foot Long Beach store will be the third Whole Foods Market 365 location in Southern California, at 3881 N. Lakewood Blvd. in the Long Beach Exchange shopping center joining Santa Monica and Silver Lake. Long Beach April 19, 2018. Photo by Brittany Murray, OCR/SCNG
Groundwork Coffee inside the Whole Foods Market 365 which will open its first store in Long Beach and eighth store nationwide on April 25. The 28,000 square foot Long Beach store will be the third Whole Foods Market 365 location in Southern California, at 3881 N. Lakewood Blvd. in the Long Beach Exchange shopping center joining Santa Monica and Silver Lake. Long Beach April 19, 2018. Photo by Brittany Murray, OCR/SCNG
Eliette Ratner, 2, enjoys a croissant during media preview day at Whole Foods Market 365 which will open its first store in Long Beach and eighth store nationwide on April 25. The 28,000 square foot Long Beach store will be the third Whole Foods Market 365 location in Southern California, at 3881 N. Lakewood Blvd. in the Long Beach Exchange shopping center joining Santa Monica and Silver Lake. Long Beach April 19, 2018. Photo by Brittany Murray, OCR/SCNG
It's a lot like Whole Foods but will it be a whole lot cheaper?
The grocery chain that revolutionized shopping for fancy, special dietary, organic and healthy-ish foods will open another Whole Foods Market 365, in a 28,000-square-foot building in Long Beach on Wednesday, April 25. At a media preview last week, employees, vendors and restaurant workers were on hand to explain the differences between the two concepts and offer a taste of what it would be like for shoppers.
The first Market 365 rolled out in Silver Lake in 2016, hoping to appeal to convenience-minded shoppers who want organic, fresh foods at a discount. There are now three in Southern California, the other is in Santa Monica, which brings the concept up to eight markets so far in the U.S. There are 16 more in development and two of those locations are in Southern California, including one set for North Hollywood and another in Upland which is slated to open on May 30.
The overall look is spare, very different from Whole Foods. The space feels big-boxy, even though 365 stores typically take up less square footage. Still, the store seemed spacious, displays were light, bright and colorful and the aisles are wider than in Whole Foods. Gone are the deli and seafood counters, although you'll still be able to buy these items as well as fresh produce.
Hot and cold bars have their place and there's a window at the back of the restaurant with a kiosk where you can order pizza, sandwiches and other goodies from a tablet.
But to make it back there you'll have to wind your way through a gauntlet of grab-and-go containers filled with distracting yummies vying for your attention including sushi by Kikka, Detroit-style square pizza by the slice, sandwiches, pastas, breakfast tacos, desserts and veggie trays.
Overall it's designed to be more stripped down, DIY and approachable, said Ted Kwong, Global PR for the 365 brand.
"We have the same quality standards as Whole Foods with the added emphasis on value and convenience," Kwong said. "We have a lot of grab-and-go options and all those things transfer to added savings."
Stroll the aisles and you'll see many of the staples you shop for at Whole Foods. The 365 products, Whole Food's value line, are here, but strange as it seems, there's no guarantee they'll be the same price at its older sibling. Note that price tags are digital – they can be changed electronically.
So what's missing from the grocery shelves? "Some of the more exotic, esoteric items that you find at Whole Foods you might not find here," Kwong said. By that he means the ingredients hardcore home cooks might need to prepare sophisticated restaurant quality recipes. Get your Aleppo pepper dust and Calabrian chilies elsewhere, OK?
Still, you'll find specific dietary items in vegan, gluten-free and other categories, and there are still plenty of mainstream specialty products such as Ninja Squirrel Sriracha, Coolhaus ice cream cookie sandwiches and fancy corn tortillas.
LA-based vendor Masienda, handed out samples of its blue, heirloom red and white corn tortillas. This is the company that sells corn to acclaimed fine dining restaurant Taco Maria in Costa Mesa.
At 365, ready-made tortillas are sold in packages of 10 for $3.39. It's a way to bring a boutique product to a larger audience said Masienda founder Jorge Gaviria. "We have a great partner with Whole Foods," Gaviria said. "This is the best place to incubate an idea."
In the beverage department, there's liquor and you will be enticed to shop for wine, so look out BevMo!, this selection touts 400-plus bottles under $20. A kiosk with a tablet in the wine section is loaded with the Delectable app to assist shoppers in choosing bottles, making wine pairing matches and creating menus with recipes whose ingredients can be found in the store.
On the other hand, you need never over-shop because you're hungry. Los Angeles-based GroundWork Coffee bar offers a range of coffee and tea drinks ($3-$5.75) including a vegan horchata latte. House specialties run higher from pour-overs ($4) to an espresso milkshake ($8). It's also a breakfast stop with a tofu burrito, avocado toast and other hip edibles.
The Asian bowl restaurant Yellow Fever, which has freestanding locations in Torrance and Venice, will serve made-to-order items. Marinades and sauces come from a central kitchen in Gardena and dishes are finished on site.
"I believe strongly in healthy, clean, fast-casual food," says chef and founding partner Kelly Kim, who came to the U.S. from Korea when she was 9. Her fusion bowls include the Californian ($10.83) with tofu "sausage," steamed kale and Asian slaw, kale, avocado, quinoa, almonds and vegan house dressing on your choice of rice, rice noodles or field greens. Shareables include the "3 Lil Pigs" pork belly lettuce wraps ($7.08). You can order wine and beer and a signature soft drink is half matcha tea, half lychee lemonade ($3.64). "We call it a Bruce Lee instead of an Arnie Palmer," Kim said.
And while we're on the subject of names: They admit they have had occasional customer complaints about "Yellow Fever."
"If you see the space and feel the culture and taste the food you'll understand. We want to bring a positivity to a word that is negative," Kim said. "If I called our restaurant Asian Bowls you'd never remember it. We get that not everyone's gonna get it."
So the shopping hungry problem is solved but what about the whole paycheck problem? There are deals for the health conscious shopper, but it's a bit like a classy, crunchy granola Costco; you might save a bundle on organic spaghetti noodles but you'll have to resist going wild in the bourbon and buttercream cake aisles.
Whole Foods Market 365 in Long Beach
Location: 3881 N. Lakewood Blvd., Suite A
Hours: After opening day regular hours will be 7 a.m.-10 p.m. daily
Opening Day Celebration: Doors open at 9 a.m. The first 100 customers in line will receive a Whole Foods Market 365 gift card ranging in value from $5 to $365. Shoppers will be treated to coffee, snacks and swag.
A comparison of the same items at Market 365 and Whole Foods in Long Beach
365 Monterey Jack cheese, 8.5 ounce
Market 365: $3.99
Whole Foods: $3.99
Almond Breeze Original almond milk
365: $3.49
WF: $3.49
365 Mini Pizzas, 3 pack
365 Organic Spaghetti, 1 pound
Ninja Squirrel Sriracha, 16-ounce bottle
Patron Silver Tequila, 750 milliliter bottle
365: $39.99
WF: $41.99
Straus Family Organic Vanilla Ice Cream, pint
WF: $5.49 (sale price $4.99)
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Anne Valdespino
Anne Valdespino never intended to be an editor. She's just another writer who took a wrong turn. Nevertheless, she has happily spent the last few years editing features in food, travel, Home and Garden and OCHOME magazine. A former editor at the Los Angeles Times and Orange Coast magazine, Anne started out as an entertainment reporter at The Orange County Register and recently returned to writing. She has come full circle, covering food and other lifestyle topics, and is back where she belongs.