The Whole Foods in the new Interbay Urban Center will open tomorrow, Oct. 13, with a grand opening bread-breaking ceremony at 8 a.m., according to Vicki Foley, a spokesperson for Whole Foods in the Northwest region.

To see pictures of the new store and read exclusive Ballard News-Tribune coverage, click here.

In January, developers of the new Interbay Urban Center announced that Whole Foods, 2001 15th Ave. W., would be the anchor tenant in the 80,000 square foot retail center.



The new Whole Foods Market, which will employ about 150 people, will be the fifth Whole Foods in the Seattle area and the sixth in the state.



"Each store is individually designed and operated for the needs of the specific community it serves," said John Clougher, the company's president for the Pacific Northwest region, in January. "The Interbay Whole Foods Market will have an interactive healthy eating center with chefs, a new Whole Values section, an expanded bulk foods section and a new sandwich bar that is unlike anything we have in our other stores."

The new Whole Foods will offer a salad bar, hot bar, chef’s case, freshly made all-natural sandwiches, coffee shop and other amenities, such as cooking classes and demonstrations, said Foley. It will also provide a full-service meat and seafood case – just like a traditional butcher or fishmonger, a new rotisserie chicken stand and more.



Clougher said the Interbay store is the third collaboration between Whole Foods and developers TFR Pacific LLC. The first was the development of the Roosevelt Square market, which continues to perform in the top 10 among the company, he said.



"I've been really amazed at the amount of community involvement and interest in this store," said Clougher in January.

Back then, Clougher said opening before the 2009 holiday shopping season was going to be a "big feat," but one that seems to have been met.


The new market will be 38,000 square feet, scaled down from it's original planned size of 60,000 square feet.


TRF Pacific filed a lawsuit late September 2008 against the upscale grocery chain after the company announced it wanted to downsize the store and delay its opening until late 2009. According to an official statement released in October 2008 from Whole Foods, the company had been in negotiations with TRF to downsize the new store for months.