Scott Smitherman, Concierge at Whole Foods Market’s Lomo Alto location gives us an insider’s view of the brand new North Park Whole Foods Market.

Located off Central Expressway and across from NorthPark Center, one of the nation’s most prominent shopping malls, the new Whole Foods Market/Park Lane landmark store will act as the anchor for the Park Lane urban village.

The new store boast 64,000 square feet of more natural and organic goodness than you can possibly shake a reusable grocery bag at. From locally-grown, locally-made goodies to being the only grocer in town with covered parking, they’ll have it all under one enormous roof!

I was there on opening day and below are a few of the amazing amenities that I saw.  Check it out for yourself!

What Makes Park Lane a Landmark Store?

Largest Whole Foods Market in North Texas. Only grocery store in town with covered parking. 700 total parking spaces. Cart-o-Lator – a specially-designed cart escalator that carefully locks in your cart and goes parallel to your escalator while you make your descent to the underground parking garage.

There is a huge covered Gardening Center offering everything from the basics, like hanging plants, soils and decorative planters, to a wide variety of local plants, veggies, herbs and bedding plants that come in their own biodegradable containers. An expanded floral selection and items for the gardening enthusiast are on display.And 20 x 8 foot outdoor performance area with 90 seats for al fresco dining and entertainment.

Wine Bar: Relax at the wine venue, with 7 bar stools plus hi-boy tables.  Enjoy your choice of featured wines or buy a bottle from the 1,000 labels available on the shelf/cooler and we’ll open it for you.  Edibles feature small plates, antipasto and sip-while-you-shop options.  Let’s not forget the 62 feet of refrigerated beer (local, organic, you name it)

Frozen Yogurt Bar with wide variety of all-natural cereal, candy, fruit and savory toppings.  The Smoothie and Fresh Juice Baroffers the usual favorites and an ever-changing variety of fresh offerings every day. You can customize your drink with the of flax seed oil, bee pollen, mangosteen, noni juice or one of our other great supplements, as well as the local Kombucha  we have on tap.

Raw Bar where you can pick out a seat and opt from a healthful selection of choices like Broccoli Cashew Crunch, Nori rolls, ‘Almost’ cheesecake, marinated vegetable salads and more.  Produce department explodes with freshness.  Seasonal items will be emphasized, as will local produce.  There will be a dozen varieties of fresh squeezed juices made in-house.  Cut fruit includes jicama, papaya and other exotic selections.

What Makes This Store Different

• Huge Whole Body department, with largest selection in Dallas of all-natural supplements, body care and “functional foods”. High-end department store cosmetics & treatment in a convenient grocery store setting.  Bulk soaps, bath salts for the creative.
• Art-O-Mat – refurbished cigarette machine in the café area where you can pull the lever and buy mini-pieces of original art.
• The wood featured throughout Park Lane Whole Foods Market is reclaimed, native Texas wood, including our produce bins, made from reclaimed wooden bleachers from the original Gilley’s in Pasadena, Texas.  Another plus in the environmentally-friendly category is that we have received the “Green Chill” Silver Level Award from the Environmental Protection Agency.
• 10 full service checkout lanes, 6 express lanes and 3 self-service lanes.  Price scanners available throughout the store.  Recipe creator interactive screen in front of store: plug in ingredients or recipe name, prints out shopping list and recipes.

Inside, every department presents a superb selection of offerings:

Value will be the key both during opening week and beyond.  Look for amazing opening-week deals throughout the store, and as always, great deals and sale signage will be easily identified.  Whole Foods Market’s “Whole Deal” magazine features coupons, recipe ideas, ways to live green, and how to shop seasonally and with flair.

Dixon’s BBQ features brisket, slow-smoked with hickory for 12 hours, and smoked pork, ribs and chicken.  Pick up a jar of house-made BBQ Sauce to complete the meal. You can buy meat by the        pound, or have our Pit Boss make a sandwich for a quick meal.   Even buffalo short ribs!

In addition to the oven-ready and market-made sausage we will also offer Dry Aged Beef, a variety of fresh buffalo and local grass-fed beef and lamb.   Also, Kosher poultry, pre-packaged.

The Allegro Coffee Bar opens at 7 a.m. for beverages and breakfast, whether treats from the Cookie Monster piled high with sweets, breakfast tacos from the cart, or your own invented mix of fresh juices.  Wi-fi and seating.

Monica Radoszewski, the Concierge can do your personal shopping, whether it’s from your grocery list, suggesting items for your Pantry Stock, Office Break-Room Stock, or for all the elements for your dinner party including flowers and wine.

The destination for fish and shellfish in Dallas.  If it swims and meets our quality standards, we’ll sell it.  A fresh seafood counter, with a wide selection of freshly-caught fish, sustainable seafood choices, and ready-to-cook serving sizes at value pricing.   Free steaming and seasoning.

The Prepared Foods area is the ready-to-go department.  20-foot chef case with items such as orange chipotle turkey breast, sesame wasabi tuna.   “Healthful Eating” self-serve bar, with grains; nutrient dense, little-to-no oil items in the selection.

The bulk aisle features fresh honey, syrups, agave nectar, tamari and oils, and gourmet bulk salts, peppercorns and sugars.  Six-nut butter grinder.  Oils & vinegars on tap: mandarin, garlic and lemon oils, peach and fig balsamic vinegar.

Six-foot artisan cheese case (local, domestic and imported) butters, patés, caviar and other gourmet and everyday items.

A full-service bakery features hearth-baked breads, in-house baked challah and ciabatta, cookies, cream cakes.  Gluten-free selections, dessert bar, custom cakes decorated or ordered in advance for special occasions.  Design-your-own cupcakes from the batter-up:  choose the flavor, the filling, the icing flavor, and the toppings.

Whole Foods Market
8190 Park Lane, Suite 351
Dallas, TX 75231
Phone: 214.342.4850