Whole Foods Will Sell Produce Grown Locally In Detroit

This morning’s groundbreaking of the Whole Foods grocery in Detroit’s Midtown district represented more than turning a few shovels of dirt. It also marked an opportunity to forge closer ties between a major corporation and the community it hopes to serve, Whole Foods CEO Walter Robb told community and civic leaders this morning.

Meeting with a Whole Foods community advisory panel prior to the 9:45 a.m. groundbreaking, Robb said Whole Foods hopes to nurture local food suppliers whose products will appear on Whole Foods shelves, as well as take a role in educating the community on healthy eating.

“We’re really excited to be here,” Robb said. “I promise you we’re going to be here with humility. We’re going to need your help.”

The groundbreaking, featuring Mayor Dave Bing, U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and other leaders, drew more than 200 well-wishers and capped a nearly two-and-a-half-year process in which Whole Foods examined whether it should open one of its upscale groceries in a distressed urban market like Detroit. The decision marks Whole Foods’ first venture into such a market after already operating more than 300 stores in three nations, including some in Detroit’s suburbs.

Several other cities, including Chicago, have now asked Whole Foods to open stores in their communities following the Detroit example, Robb said. But he said he was happy that Detroit was first.

“The richness that we discovered here was very encouraging,” Robb said. “That’s special for me.”

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