SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) – A long-awaited Whole Foods Market officially opened in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury neighborhood Wednesday.
The 21,000-square-foot store next to Golden Gate Park was scheduled to open last year, but construction permit conflicts delayed the market’s progress, Whole Foods spokeswoman Jennifer Marples said.
“They were just basic delays, nothing significant,” she said.
The store occupies a building that had been vacant for five years. A Cala Foods market was its previous tenant.
Crews used recycled materials to build the new Whole Foods Market, including a donated wood gym floor from a Bay Area high school, Marples said.
Employees and residents joined in the traditional breaking of an 8-foot-long loaf of bread at 9:45 a.m. to mark the store’s official opening.
Whole Foods had a “soft opening” on Monday, and customers have been allowed to shop since then, Marples said.
The store, located at 690 Stanyan St., is open daily from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
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