Whole Foods Announces December Opening in Gowanus
By Al Barbarino November 19, 2013 10:36 am
reprintsWhole Foods Market announced yesterday that it will open its long-awaited and first Brooklyn store in Gowanus on December 17 at 214 3rd Street.
The 56,000-square-foot store will offer a full range of high-quality natural and organic foods; a 20,000-square-foot rooftop greenhouse built in partnership with New York’s Gotham Greens; The Roof, a second-floor, indoor/outdoor tap room and restaurant; and a ramen take-out venue from chef Yuji Hariguchi.
The rooftop greenhouse, announced earlier this year, is a commercial scale greenhouse farm will grow pesticide-free produce year round. The company said it will include advanced irrigation systems that use up to 20 times less water than conventional farming, as well as enhanced glazing materials and electrical equipment to reduce overall energy demand.
Because of its proximity to Whole Foods Market stores in New York City, the greenhouse project will eliminate long distance food transport and associated emissions, while ensuring product freshness.
The announcement comes after roughly eight years of delays, spurred mostly by complaints from neighbors regarding the potential impacts of a large supermarket in what was a generally quiet and uncongested neighborhood.
Whole Foods also expects to open a massive retail complex in Williamsburg in 2014.
