Whole Foods on Monroe Ave has opening date set

BRIGHTON, N.Y. (WHEC) — News10NBC has an update to a question many of you have been asking about the status of the construction project for the Whole Foods Supermarket currently going on in Brighton.

We talked to the co-owner of the Whole Food Plaza who has some great news to share with the community. Anthony Daniele says the scheduled opening date for the supermarket is in February 2023.

"We continue to forge forward, and Whole Foods will open, and the plaza will be finished," said Daniele.

Construction work continues at the former site of Mario’s Restaurant on Monroe Avenue in Brighton. Soon, a brand new Whole Foods Supermarket will open its doors to the public. Daniele says the project is moving along.

"The Whole Foods store is complete. The shell is complete, and now the Whole Foods grocery store is building out the interior. So they will do construction inside. That process takes anywhere from 6 to 8 months depending on supply chain issues and labor," said Daniele.

He says Whole Foods is part of the greater Whole Foods Plaza—an 83,000-square-foot development.

"It’s a great project for the town. It’s a great project for the area. Certainly brings some much-needed competition to the grocery business giving folks another option to choose from in the Brighton-Pittsford area," said Daniele.

Other businesses in the plaza are starting to build out.

"I would anticipate that around the same time towards the end of the year we’ll start seeing some stores open, and then we’ll have the Whole Foods open," said Daniele.

But not everyone is looking forward to Whole Foods opening in the neighborhood. Brighton Grassroots is one such group. The group is suing the town of Brighton. It hopes to reduce the size of the plaza which will serve as the home of Rochester’s Whole Foods store and other retailers. For six years now Brighton Grassroots has been vocal about concerns the plaza will negatively impact traffic on Monroe Avenue.

"They continue to nag, but the court is being diligent. We’re going through that process. It’s not over yet, but there’s been no indication to date that the court has plans slowing anything down, or stopping things," said Daniele.

News10NBC reached out to Howie Jacobson, Managing Member of Brighton Grassroots. He sent this statement saying, "Brighton Grassroots is looking forward to the Supreme Court trial on December 5 regarding the oversized plaza."

Whole Foods Plaza is 100 percent leased, and the other businesses in the plaza will open their doors in a staggered opening process.