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WASHINGTON — Whole Foods Market opened a store here on Wednesday that allows customers to skip the checkout line and “Just Walk Out,” relying on computer vision and a system of sensors to tally their bill, process their payment and email them a receipt.
Located at 2323 Wisconsin Ave. N.W. in Washington D.C.’s Glover Park neighborhood, the store is the first of two Whole Foods Market outlets slated to open this year featuring Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology. (A traditional checkout experience is still available for those customers that prefer it.)
The 21,500-square-foot store offers a wide variety of local products, which the company said are “all hand-selected by Whole Foods Market Mid Atlantic’s Local Forager, Kathleen Leverenz.”
Additional highlights of the Glover Park store include:
- A prepared foods section with hot and cold food bars and large assortment of ready-to-eat soups. Fresh Kikka Sushi, New York-style pizza and a hot bistro station that accommodates a variety of tastes and dietary preferences.
- An array of organic, conventional, local and Sourced for Good produce, plus local offerings including packaged salads from Bowery Farming’s Nottingham, Md. farm and Gotham Greens’ Baltimore farm, as well as dressings from Tessamae’s.
- A seafood counter providing a full-service experience that includes cleaning shrimp, custom cutting and deboning fillets and preparing whole fish to preference. All seafood is either sustainable wild-caught or Responsibly Farmed. Local offerings include smoked fish from Ivy City Smokehouse, Maryland crabmeat from M. Clayton Seafood Company, whole fish from George’s Seafood and “Skinny Dipper” oysters from True Chesapeake Oyster Co.
- A full-service butcher who is available to custom cut meats, debone poultry and prepare special orders. Department includes house-made sausage and oven-ready items, as well as smoked meats from Wellshire Farms that are exclusive to Whole Foods Market with no nitrates or additives and Animal Welfare Certified pork from Thompson Farms.
- A specialty department dedicated to celebrating cheesemakers, artisan producers and specialty foods like chocolate. The cheese department is overseen by an in-store Cheese Monger who can custom cut cheese, offer recommendations for any occasion and create custom boards. Local offerings across the department include the Merry Goat Round Spruce Reserve from Firefly Farms, Bourbon Barrel Aged Chocolate from Harper Macaw and Everything Crackers from Firehook.
- Grocery products from local creators, including snacks from Route 11 Potato Chips and Snacklins, unique granolas from Michele’s Granola, Oh-Mazing Granola Snacks and Hudson Henry Baking Co. as well as authentic Ethiopian lentil dips and injera crips from Tsiona Foods.
- An extensive selection of more than 250 beers and more than 500 wines from 50 local suppliers, including traditional bottled and canned wines from Maryland’s Old Westminster Winery and C. beers from Atlas Brew Works and Right Proper Brewing Company.
- A bakery offering house-made custom decorated cakes, scratch-made breads and options for dairy-free, gluten-free and vegan treats. Department features items from several local bakeries, including cookies and pies from Whisked!, breads from Crest Hill Bakery and cake slices from Sweet and Natural.
- A wellness and Beauty section featuring local items such as soy candles from Frères Branchiaux Candles and Handmade Habitat, Clay Mask and Orange Tolu Soap from District Batch, African Black Soap and Whipped Shea Butter from Shea Radiance and food-themed dish towels from The Neighborgoods.
