BRIGHTON, N.Y. — The grand opening of Whole Foods in Brighton on Wednesday is as anticipated and challenged as that of any business around Rochester and the Finger Lakes in recent years.

The new 50,000-square-foot store will feature a range of products including organic, vegan and conventional foods, as well as an in-house meat butcher and a bakery. The store will also feature many hyperlocal products. 

What You Need To Know

  • The new Whole Foods Market in Brighton has finally opened its doors to the public following years of legal challenges.

  • The 50,000-square-foot store features a wide range of products including organic, vegan and conventional foods as well as an in-house meat butcher and a bakery. The store also offers many hyperlocal products, with approximately 100 items being from Rochester and the surrounding area

  • The opening of the new Whole Foods location is a significant milestone for the community and is expected to have a positive impact on the local economy

"We have a lot of hyperlocal products, so there are about 100 items in the store that are hyperlocal to Rochester and surrounding areas," said Anita Bilaver, general manager. "[There are] about 20 new suppliers that are Rochester natives in this area, so it is really exciting to have that kind of hyperlocal activity in the store and those products that people are like, 'hey, I know what that is, it is not from 200 miles away, it is from right down the road.'"

The new store is expected to alter the landscape of the local supermarket scene and the traffic along one of the region's busiest commercial corridors. The first Whole Foods in the area opened just down the street from Wegmans' lead Pittsford location.

During this seven-year saga, opponents of the store spent most of that time tying up the project with 32 legal challenges. Wegmans backed most of those efforts through a citizen group that made the case that the development would impede a nearby recreational trail.

A trial that heard the cases ruled in favor of letting Whole Foods open. That decision is currently under appeal.

The latest attempt to delay the store in the courts was rejected by an appellate court judge on Tuesday. The ruling was in favor of the town of Brighton and Daniele Family Companies, which developed the Whole Foods project and the plaza where it will operate. Their lawyers argued it would cost the developer $100,000 a month if the courts shut down the site.

Whole Foods, which is based in Austin, Texas, currently has New York stores in Buffalo and Albany.

The new Whole Foods is located at 2740 Monroe Ave near I-590.