Whole Foods Reveals Where Cheaper Stores Will Open

Lee Breslouer/Thrillist
Lee Breslouer/Thrillist

Soon, you'll be able to afford to shop at Whole Foods -- well, at least the new, cheaper stores. And now, they've finally got locations and estimated opening dates.

Your wallet's least-favorite grocery chain said it plans to open five of its 365 by Whole Foods stores in the second half of 2016, according to a report by Reuters. The first of the cheaper concept stores will open in Los Angeles' Silver Lake neighborhood, followed by outposts in Houston, TX; Santa Monica, CA; Bellevue, WA; and Portland, OR. And while it appears only the West Coast will get the more-approachable stores at first, the company said it hopes to open five additional locations in 2017.

Supposedly geared to poor millennials, the stores will feature a "curated selection" of what a typical Whole Foods offers with a "streamlined design" and, most importantly, lower prices. So, you probably shouldn't expect to find long aisles full of yuppie favorites like $10 jars of "artisanal" pickles or $13 packages of dried mango, but hey! You never know.

Along with revealing the plans, Whole Foods execs said bad publicity from that recent overcharging scandal took a big bite out of its sales last quarter. Cheaper prices are a great way to get back in public favor, guys -- and probably to make more money, too.

Tony Merevick is Cities News Editor at Thrillist and -- considering the nightmare that is grocery shopping in NYC -- wonders where these cheaper Whole Foods stores will fit in here. Send news tips to news@thrillist.com and follow him on Twitter @tonymerevick.