photo: Christina Mitchell
I was invited to a media preview tour and dinner last week and the second Whole Foods in Berkeley officially opened yesterday. It’s a beautiful, new 47,800 square feet store, and they’re doing some new and interesting things. Here’s everything you need to know.
photo: Christina Mitchell
Local Sourcing
This is Harv Singh and he’s the Local Forager, so he finds local artisans and helps them make the jump to national retail. He showed us Whole Foods Market’s first “Forager Finds” space, a dedicated area for our Bay Area food artisans including Omnivore Salt, Baia Pasta, Sosu Sauces, Muffin Revolution and InnaJam.
photo: Christina Mitchell
Prepared Foods
There will be an Adventure Taco Bar (Korean beef, Chicken Tikka Masala, Chinese Five Spice) Pizza, Pizzettes, Strombolis, plus a Sandwich Station and Salad Bar.
photo: Christina Mitchell
Beer
They’ll offer more than 300 beers, with some local breweries, including Bison Organic, Califraft Brewing and Almanac.
photo: Christina Mitchell
Wine
This is Lonnie’s Wine World and I ended up meeting him at the Community Dinner after the tour. He looks just like this picture, right? Anyway, he’ll offer more than 550 wines, including Donkey & Goat and Urban Legend.
photo: Christina Mitchell
Cheese
They’ll have two Certified Cheese Professionals (which is the equivalent to a sommelier) that can help you decide what to buy. Those were full wheels of cheese wrapped up in the background, and they’ll be cut to order on this table.
photo: Christina Mitchell
Produce
They have a Responsibly Grown rating system that “assesses growing practices that impact human health and the environment.” Fruits and vegetables are rated Good, Better or Best so customers can “make informed decisions.” Out of everything in the produce department, 85% is locally grown and fruit like bananas, mangoes and pineapples are traded fairly.
photo: Christina Mitchell
Meat
The full service butcher counter has a 5 Step Animal Welfare Rating System. There are strict guidelines and everything is clearly labeled so you can make informed decisions.
photo: Christina Mitchell
Seafood
Wild caught and responsibly farm raised seafood are delivered 6 days a week and the options are color coded.
photo: Christina Mitchell
Bakery
This picture was taken a week before they opened, so I can’t wait to see what it looks (and smells) like today. Cakes, pastries and more goodies will be available, but the big news is they’re making bread from scratch. Local bakers including Morell’s Bread, Baron’s Bagels and Acme will also be featured.
photo: Christina Mitchell
Bulk
There are more than 240 products in the Bulk section, including spices, grains, flours, nuts. The baker in me was happy to see all the options.
photo: Christina Mitchell
Allegro Coffee Roasters
Coffee is roasted daily in small batches for all of the stores in the Bay Area. See that shiny, new machine on the left? It burns off its own waste, so there’s virtually no smell. Coffee beans are sourced from around the world and they arrive in those burlap sacks in the background.
photo: Christina Mitchell
I asked what the coffee beans look like before they’re roasted and they grabbed a handful to show me. Each bag is roasted at a specific time and temperature to coax out the most flavor.
As you can see, the new Whole Foods on Gilman has a lot to offer. Are you gonna go check it out?
1025 Gilman Street, Berkeley
Christina Mitchell
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