Whole Foods to open first Queens location in Ridgewood
Streetview of 55-60 Myrtle Avenue © 2024 Google
Queens is set to get its first-ever Whole Foods, as the popular grocery chain signed a lease in Ridgewood this week. As first reported by Crain’s, the Amazon-owned supermarket on Wednesday signed a 15-year deal for 28,000 square feet inside the former Beaux-Arts bank building at 55-60 Myrtle Avenue. The grocery store will take over a space previously occupied by Rite Aid, which filed for bankruptcy for the second time in May.
The three-story building is owned by Queens-based developer Norse Realty. David Levine, the firm’s vice president, signed on behalf of the landlord, which was represented in the deal by Evan Shuckman of Ripco.
Under the lease, Whole Foods will have three five-year extension options, though it remains unclear when the store will open or how much the company will pay for the space. Estimated retail rents in the building range from $46 to $57 per square foot, according to Crain’s.
Marking a departure from its concentration in Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn, Whole Foods has often been associated with gentrification, a trend sometimes referred to as the “Whole Foods Effect.” No Whole Foods currently operates east of Williamsburg.
The company also plans to open a Long Island City store in 2028.
Since opening its first Manhattan store in 2001, Whole Foods has expanded across Manhattan and Brooklyn. In April, the grocer signed a 12-year lease for 10,707 square feet for its small-format market concept at 774 Grand Street in Williamsburg, as reported by Commercial Observer.
Whole Foods also opened a 10,000-square-foot store in Stuytown in May and an 8,500-square-foot store in Hell’s Kitchen in June.
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