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Edgewater Whole Foods to Include Wine and Beer Bar, Bistro, Execs Say

By Benjamin Woodard | October 3, 2014 7:46am
 Edgewater's former Dominick's on North Broadway will get a facelift by Whole Foods. The designs are subject to change.
Edgewater's former Dominick's on North Broadway will get a facelift by Whole Foods. The designs are subject to change.
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Whole Foods

EDGEWATER — The new Edgewater Whole Foods will serve wine and open a "bistro" dining area, according to plans revealed Thursday by company executives.

So far, the former Dominick's at 6009 North Broadway has been entirely gutted, and construction is expected to cost "in excess of $10 million" for the 52,000-square-foot store, said Anthony Lesley, the construction coordinator for the project.

Whole Foods Regional Vice President David Schwartz said the store should open in the spring. The company is opening 22 stores in the next two years in the Midwest.

"This is a pretty big Whole Foods; that's why there's a lot of really cool features," Schwartz said at meeting with area residents Thursday night.

Residents voted unanimously to support the lifting of two liquor moratoriums in the area to allow Whole Foods to obtain consumption on premises and package goods licenses. Residents erupted in applause after the vote.

At the store's bar, only wine and beer — including Chicago brews — would be served, but no cocktails, Schwartz said.

"We're beer geeks at Whole Foods, and I'm the biggest," he said.

In addition to a wine and cheese bar and bistro dining area, the store will include a bakery, coffee bar, wood-fired grill, sushi bar, sandwich station, noodles and dumpling station, smoked fish and bacon service case, and an olive bar, according to plans.

Edgewater artist Aaron Wooten has been hired to paint a mural in the store.

The store would employ 200 to 225 employees; 60 percent of positions are full time, Schwartz said. Job fairs will be advertised next year.

Ald. Harry Osterman (48th) said he would work with Whole Foods to put artwork on the store's exterior wall facing North Broadway to make it more "pedestrian friendly." Windows are also expected to be added there.

Whole Foods is "an important entity to come to the neighborhood," Osterman said.

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