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Begyle's West Loop IPA Debuts at Whole Foods West Loop, Opening Wednesday

By Stephanie Lulay | March 24, 2015 5:58am
 The new West Loop Whole Foods, at 1 N. Halsted St., opens Wednesday in the old Dominick's building.
The new West Loop Whole Foods, at 1 N. Halsted St., opens Wednesday in the old Dominick's building.
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DNAinfo/Stephanie Lulay

WEST LOOP — The city's newest Whole Foods grocery store on Halsted Street will open at 8 a.m. Wednesday.

The 42,000-square-foot store replaces a former Dominick's at 1 N. Halsted St. that closed in 2013. The West Loop Whole Foods store will feature a rotating list of rare and exclusive beers, including a West Loop IPA brewed by North Center-based Begyle Brewing Co., and tasty treats featuring Greektown flavors, said Allison Phelps, a Whole Foods spokeswoman.

The first 500 people in line on opening day Wednesday will receive a free gift card, Phelps said. The mystery values range from $5 to $50, and one lucky shopper will get a gift card valued at $500. 

In addition to the healthy and organic food items the company is known for, the West Loop location will also carry fresh baklava from Greektown's Artopolis Bakery, specialty tea from Milwaukee-based Rishi tea, in-house smoked meats, customized Neapolitan-style pizzas and a variety of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern foods.

For the drinking crowd, the West Loop location's 24-tap bar will feature unique and hard-to-find beers, a "beer engine" will serve up Begyle's Hophazardly, and a bar with 25 different whiskeys and two specialty cocktails from Chicago-based mixologist Charles Joly, who left the Aviary last year.

Phelps said the company was eager to build in the vibrant West Loop community.

"This community has magnificent blend of commuters, workers and residents that we are so excited to serve," she said.

The Halsted store was one of seven new stores Whole Foods announced in February 2014 after acquiring several former Dominick's locations. Dominick's announced plans to exit the Chicago market in 2013.

Over the last year, Phelps said the Whole Foods team "went down to the dirt" at the West Loop store and rebuilt from the ground up.

"It may have frustrated some people, but we believe they will be very excited by the new stores and feel it was worth the wait," she said. 

Whole Foods West Loop is the company's 22nd store in the Chicago area. A Streeterville store opened in January, a Lincoln Park store opened in February and an Edgewater store will open in April.

The West Loop Whole Foods, down the block from a Mariano's grocery store, will be open daily from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

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