Colorado's newest flagship market: Whole Foods' Belmar store breaks new ground for food shoppers.

• Author: Smith, Kathy

Whole Foods Market opens Dec. 7 in the new, fashionable Belmar Shopping Center in Lakewood. It is a sprawling 64,000 square feet of retail space, and instantly becomes the Austin, Texas-based food chain's flagship store in Colorado. The company's mission is to provide food and nutritional products that are natural, organic and free of artificial ingredients, using local suppliers. You can identify products that are grown, raised and processed in Colorado, by the Colorado Proud Logo.

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Whole Foods Market is taking food, dining and shopping to a completely new level; it is like a food mini mall. When asked why this is a flagship store, Marketing Director Allison Trembly said, "Whole Foods Market, Belmar, is the premier Colorado location, with more than 500 parking spaces, two sit-down restaurants and a full apparel department featuring organic cotton. We are all very excited to be a part of the community." On opening day, many of the local suppliers will have samples of chips, salsa, cheese, soda and more.

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The expansive space allows for easy navigation of carts through the aisles, and shelves are designed for better access to products. This is the first Whole Foods in Colorado built from the ground up, and with 500+ parking spaces, (three times the number at any other store) it is very accessible. The facade of flagstone and glass walls is reminiscent of a market in SoHo. Its foyer has wheelbarrows, carts and bins overflowing with seasonal produce, much like a farmer's market.

Whole Body

The addition of an apparel department is unique to the Belmar location. Water Girl[R] organic cotton clothing, a division of Patagonia[R], is the primary line that features yoga clothes, women's athletic wear and baby items.

The whole-body area has an in-house massage, body and skin products, a complete line of supplements and herbs, and a broad selection of books and magazines.

Produce

Growers from all over the state supply the majority of produce in every Whole Foods Market in the state. According to Christopher Downing, produce team leader, "the most important thing is bringing the local grower to the customer, and vice versa. Our suppliers love to hear the customer's feedback. We opened our own distribution center in Denver to get the freshest foods to our customers. From the time a product is picked, it is on our shelves within 72 hours."

The produce section is a vegetarian's dream with fresh onions, winter...