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Whole Foods Market plans to close its longtime Idylwood location on Monday, Feb. 3, ending a 25-year run at Idylwood Plaza.
The closing date for the store at 7511 Leesburg Pike could shift depending on how quickly its remaining inventory sells. Four days later, Whole Foods is scheduled to open a new Falls Church store at 103 E. Broad Street.
The 45,000-square-foot market will occupy the ground floor of the new Broad & Washington apartment building. Its grand opening is set for Feb. 7 at 8 a.m.
The first 300 customers in line will receive a custom tote bag and a “Secret Saver” coupon card offering total potential savings of up to $100. D.C.-based 1790 Coffee will serve complimentary coffee, while Whisked by Jenna, a bakery based in Capitol Heights, Maryland, will provide baked goods.
Whole Foods also plans to mark the opening with a food donation to Northern Virginia Food Rescue, a nonprofit network that connects donated food with people who need it. The Amazon-owned grocery chain previously gave the organization a refrigerated van.
Food for Others, a Merrifield-based food bank, and Share of McLean will each receive $5,000 donations. Share of McLean is a volunteer-run nonprofit providing food, clothing, furniture and financial assistance. It operates a food pantry and clothing room at McLean Baptist Church, 1367 Chain Bridge Road.
What the new store will offer
The Falls Church market will operate daily from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. and stock more than 700 products from vendors in Virginia, Maryland and D.C.
Its full-service seafood counter will carry sustainable wild-caught or Responsibly Farmed seafood, including ready-to-cook selections. Regional offerings will include Happy Oysters from Sapidus Farms, crab soups and dips from Jimmy’s Famous Seafood, and Chesapeake Bay fish supplied by George’s Seafood.
The produce department will feature organic, conventional and Sourced for Good items, including Gotham Greens salad kits, Lancaster Farms hard squash, and microgreens from Superfood and AeroFarms.
A specialty department staffed by trained cheesemongers will offer products from artisan producers, including Firehook crackers, Naturalissima charcuterie and La Pasta artisanal pasta.
The grocery section will combine 365 by Whole Foods Market products with local options such as jalapeño grilled cheese sandwiches from A Friendly Bread, Philly cheesesteak macaroni and cheese from Myles Comfort Foods, and Strawberry Fields Organic Skyr Yogurt from Painterland Sisters.
At the full-service meat counter, butchers will cut steaks and poultry to order. The department will also carry dry-aged beef, house-made sausage and pork from Pennbrook Acres Farms.
The store will stock more than 550 wines and 180 craft beers. Its prepared-food area will include hot and salad bars, pizza, and sushi made daily by Kikka Sushi.
Other amenities will include a full-service coffee bar and a bakery producing bread in-house. The bakery will carry Whole Foods favorites such as Berry Chantilly Cake and brown butter cookies, along with vegan and gluten-free selections. Local products will include Whisked by Jenna cookies and vegan cake slices from Sweet and Natural.
The Whole Body department will sell wellness, beauty and lifestyle products, including Tiny Sprouts Foods digestion supplements, Luna Goat Milk Soap from Naked Goat Soap Company and Lavender Shea Butter from Shea Radiance.
Idylwood space faces an uncertain future
No replacement has been announced for the nearly 30,000-square-foot space Whole Foods will leave behind at Idylwood Plaza.
The shopping center is expected to add several dining businesses during the year, including Japanese restaurant Kajiken, Mumbai Central, First Watch, Quickway Hibachi and frozen-yogurt shop Happy Froyo.