Whole Foods Market set to debut in Montana

Next month, Whole Foods Market is slated to open its first store in Montana.

Plans call for Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods, owned by Amazon, to open the doors to a 31,718-square-foot store in Bozeman on Feb. 1. The new location, at 2905 W. Main St., will expand the specialty grocer’s brick-and-mortar footprint to 44 states.

Situated on an outparcel in the Gallatin Valley Mall, the Bozeman Whole Foods Market will sport an “outdoor adventure” theme in line with the Upper Midwest region, with a modern and earthy look including exposed wood beams, high ceilings and large paneled windows overlooking nearby mountains, Whole Foods said. An outdoor patio with heaters also will give customers a scenic spot to drink coffee, tea and seasonal specialty beverages from the store’s local, women-owned coffee bar, Treeline Coffee Roasters.

The Bozeman Whole Foods is situated on an outparcel between Petco and Rocky Mountain Bank at the Gallatin Valley Mall. / Photo courtesy Gallatin Valley Mall

Whole Foods noted that the Bozeman store will house more than 75 local items from Montana and Wyoming, curated by Darcy Landis, local forager for the retailer’s Mountain Pacific regional division. Local offerings include plant-based dips from Plant-Perks, canned vegetables and jams from Roots Kitchen and Cannery, safflower oil from The Oil Barn and caramels from Bèquet Confections in grocery; organic goat cheese from Montana’s Amaltheia Organic Dairy in the specialty cheese department; and cards from Birds & Beasleys and soy-based candles from Ignite Candle Co., both in Montana.

The beer and wine assortment features local craft beers from Bozeman Brewing Co., Bridger Brewing, MAP Brewing Co., Mountains Walking Brewery and The Outlaw Brewing Co., plus local wine selections from Montana vineyard Ten Spoons Winery. Also, the fresh produce department includes organic, conventional and Whole Foods’ Sourced for Good items from local farms, and there’s a floral section offering cut flowers from Montana’s Rodi Farm and High Country Growers.

Along with full-service meat, seafood and bakery departments is a prepared foods area with a hot food bar, a salad bar, a soup station, made-in-house rotisserie chicken, sushi by Genji and fresh-made pizza, plus grab-and-go salads and sandwiches. The specialty cheese section, overseen by knowledgeable cheesemongers, will offer more than 100 cheeses from around the world, including the U.S., the U.K., France, Spain, Netherlands, Italy and Greece.

Whole Foods entered its 43rd state, Wyoming, in February 2021 when it acquired independent supermarket Jackson Whole Grocer, which converted to the chain’s banner. Whole Foods now operates 512 U.S. stores overall, with locations in the District of Columbia and all states except Alaska, Delaware, North and South Dakota, Vermont and West Virginia.