Whole Foods to Open 30 KSF Mandeville Location; St. Rock Market Targets April Opening

By Eliza Theiss, Associate Editor

Albertsons Mandeville

Mandeville residents that have been campaigning for a Whole Foods location can finally celebrate. While rumors have been floating around the grocery chain looking at possible locations, confirmation of a future store came recently with Whole Foods announcing plans to open 11 new stores across North America. Among the eight newly signed U.S. store leases is one in Mandeville.

According to The Times Picayune, the health food grocer will take up a 40,000-square-foot lease vacated by a recently closed Albertsons supermarket. The lease is located in Premier Centre, a 273,000-square-foot shopping center near the U.S.190 and North Causeway Boulevard intersection. Whole Foods will join a tenant mix that includes Bed, Bath & Beyond; Barnes & Noble; Old Navy; and T.J. Maxx. This will be Whole Foods’ fourth location in the Greater New Orleans area; it opened its third location a year ago in the blighted former Schwegmann’s supermarket.

In other retail news, St. Roch Market has announced the final additions to its vendor line-up before its much anticipated April opening. According to The Times-Picayune, St. Roch will feature 13 affordable and gourmet vendors offering a mix of coastal and local fare. This is in line with the project’s goal of restoring the 19^th century market to its original purpose as a hub for small food vendors. According to The Times-Picayune, the 1875-built market suffered extensive damage during Hurricane Katrina and sat blighted for seven years before the city spent $3.7 million to renovate the property. Business partners Will Donaldson and Barre Tanguis then took an interest in the property and invested to outfit and finish the market into a usable retail space for vendors offering both high-end gourmet fare and affordable options in line with the neighborhood’s needs.

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