Whole Foods Market
Opened: 2020
Previous Tenants: A&P
Location: 1204 Preakness Ave, Wayne, NJ
Photographed: July 2020
The Wayne, NJ A&P, a beautifully preserved Futurestore, closed in 2015 with no buyer in the A&P bankruptcy. In 2016, it was announced that the Wayne Natural Food Market was to move into the space, plans that never seemed to materialize. By 2017, The MRKT Square (which I vaguely recall reading was to be the same owners as Wayne Natural Food Market) was slated to move in, and even began renovations on the exterior, but never completed them and pulled out long before the store opened. The following year, Whole Foods announced intentions to move in, finally opening in October 2020. I captured the store in progress late in its transition, in July 2020, while Whole Foods was putting the finishing touches on its renovations.
Diehard supermarket fans will recognize the Futurestore facade still back there behind the existing facade, which was actually installed for The MRKT Square. Whole Foods, however, took the renovations even further, totally redoing the interior and expanding the store to 40,000 square feet.
Peeking in the front doors, we find the produce department on the left side of the store. The deli/bakery/prepared foods aisle of the store is on the right side.
Closeup of what's going to be the produce alcove.
Looking out from the produce alcove to the main grocery aisles.
Looking in through the exit doors. The Futurestore beams are fully intact! A beautiful sight, even if the windows are modified to be vertical instead of diagonal.
Center store, with the registers and future cafe in the foreground.
Looking over to the deli/bakery aisle on the far right side of the store.
Sad to see one of the very few last Futurestores go, but at the same time, this Whole Foods is looking great! Next we're heading back out west to 23 to tour a supermarket tomorrow here on The Market Report, then see a former store across the street. Stay tuned!
Glad to see some of the Futurestore elements remaining!
ReplyDeleteFor sure! I think judging by other examples of Whole Foods taking over older unique stores, there might have been more left over from A&P, save for the fact that the renovations were actually begun by the other tenant (Wayne Natural Food Market / MRKT Square). I think Whole Foods might even have left more of the Futurestore elements if they did the entire renovation from start to finish.
DeleteInteresting! That's unexpected -- but then again I don't know a lot about Whole Foods (I just assumed their renovations would be more thorough). Pretty cool to think about what could have been, then!
DeleteOh yes, they're definitely thorough. I guess a better way to explain it would be that they restore the space to take advantage of a unique building, incorporating the older elements of the building into the modern building design. Check out what they did to a Centennial A&P in Morristown, NJ... https://www.dailyrecord.com/picture-gallery/news/2015/04/22/photos-whole-foods-market-opens-doors-to-huge-crowds-in-morristown/26196605/?itm_source=google&itm_medium=amp&itm_campaign=gallery
DeleteThat's my bad, too -- I meant thorough as in wiping away traces of previous tenants, not thorough as in the extent of the remodel altogether!
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