Whole Foods readies Buffalo opening

Whole Foods Market on Monday said new stores near Buffalo, N.Y., and Dallas would open this month.

The retailer said its Buffalo store, located on Sheridan Drive in Amherst, N.Y., would open Sept. 15 and mark the retailer’s first store in Western New York state – and its first to include a bocce ball court. Whole Foods separately on Monday said a new store in the Las Colinas neighborhood of Irving, Texas, would open Sept. 28. That store will be Whole Foods’ 14th in the greater Dallas area.

“The Buffalo community is incredibly welcoming and supportive. We couldn’t ask for a better place to open our first store in Western New York,” Mark Wilkins, the store team leader for Whole Foods Market Buffalo, said in a statement. “We can’t wait to provide our new neighbors with a place to find convenient meal solutions, to discover new food favorites, and to come together with family and friends for a friendly round of bocce ball.”

The bocce ball court is part of the store’s community café space. The 50,000-square-foot store also features a variety of dining options including Bar 1818, which the company describes as “a nod to Western New York’s deeply rooted brewing culture” with 12 taps and a menu featuring grass-fed burgers, Barrel & Brine pickles, First Light cheese, Ru’s potato pierogis and more.

The store will also include a Mediterranean Kabob offering with custom wraps, bowls and salads; a customer coffee and juice bar; a sushi counter, fresh pizza, and hot and cold food bars.

Whole Foods announced it had signed a lease to build the store in 2014. It is located in a redeveloped shopping center less than one mile from A Walmart Supercenter and a Wegmans, which is headquartered in Rochester, N.Y.

The Las Colinas store is 44,000 square feet and includes an in-store pub, a self-service desert selections, fresh pizza and indoor and outdoor seating, Whole Foods said.