Annie Rau ‘19, Chris Bassett ‘18: Despite the excitement surrounding the opening of a Whole Foods Market in the Ellis Preserve, residents of Newtown Square and the EA community will be forced to wait another six months for its grand opening.
Many students eagerly awaiting its arrival anticipate access to healthier alternatives for after school snacks. Ella Zomber ‘19 says, “It is a healthier option than the school’s food or Chipotle. If you are running late in the morning you can get breakfast there.”
Expectations were that the Whole Foods would be readily available to the community in the beginning of the 2017-18 school year, creating a buzz among our community of students, teachers, and staff. The store was marketed with the promise of “Coming Summer 2017.” This promise has yet to be fulfilled and rumors have spread that there were damage problems with the building and the wall. Project Manager for Ellis Preserve Neil F. Gallagher sheds light on these issues. Gallagher asserts, “The Whole Foods lease has actually begun and they are paying rent on time every month. Maybe you have heard the crazy rumors about the wall or the building. These rumors are untrue. The wall is not crumbling and the building is not sinking.”
The delay in store opening may be a result of the recent purchase by Amazon. “Amazon acquired Whole Foods on August 28th for $13.7 billion and they will get to put their stamp on the new store’s interior design. We are expecting their work to complete the interior and open the store to start soon and for Amazon/Whole Foods to welcome shoppers in Spring 2018,” explains Gallagher. “We actually delivered the ‘box’ to Whole Foods almost a year ahead of schedule so it may seem that it has been just sitting there unusually long. In reality, it was just more cost efficient for us to build all of the ‘boxes’ at the same time. The individual retailers all control the construction of their individual interiors.”
Although the delay was certainly a surprise to many in the community, Upper School students still like the prospect of another food option close to EA. Kate Beinkampen ‘19, looking to the future, states, “It would be really convenient just for going out for lunch. It would be really nice, especially for seniors, to be able to go out there to grab lunch.”