For those who are still holding out hope that the big empty space on 15th Ave West will someday actually be home to Whole Foods as originally planned, an interesting report today from Market Watch.
Shares of the troubled Whole Foods Market surged 22% after the investment fund run by Ron Burkle, who made a fortune in investing in supermarkets, bet the high-end grocery chain can turn its business around with a big investment in the company. The filing spurred more buying in Whole Foods stock as investors took the news as a vote of confidence in the struggling grocer.
Whole Foods has been hit hard by the economy and we have been following the company troubles since the store that was supposed to open on 15th was put on indefinite hold.
Magnolia Voice first reported in September that the Whole Foods project at Interbay was in trouble. The developer of the complex filed suit against Whole Foods for breaching the lease and it is now unclear if the store will ever open in that location. The large complex that was meant to house Whole Foods now sits empty.
4 responses so far ↓
1 Frygirl // Jan 9, 2009 at 11:31 am
Where exactly on 15th/Interbay is this complex located? Also, the Whole Foods web site lists a West Seattle location as a store-in-progress, but no Interbay location.
2 Adam // Jan 9, 2009 at 12:40 pm
Whole Foods pulled the location off their website back in Sept when the lawsuit happened. I also know that Whole Foods will be occupying that space in the smaller format come late summer. I work for another national retailer that has agreed to occupy the 20k or so sq ft that Whole Foods didn’t want. I know that everyone has been tight liped about it all because of thw lawsuit and negotiations. I am hearing that it will all be settled and announced by the end of Jan.
3 JKY // Jan 9, 2009 at 3:42 pm
It’s hard to tell what the economy is doing to those of us in Magnolia and Queen Anne. We are all fairly lucky that we seem to be living the “good life” still - thinking about Whole Foods and all their great - and expensive - products.
4 dogman // Jan 9, 2009 at 7:01 pm
Hey Adam, give us more scoop…you seem to know what is up.
I will be happy if they really do open Whole Foods this summer, will be a nice addition to our neighborhood….even if the prices are way tooo high.
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