By Jane Smith
Delray Beach Plaza will get a full-line Whole Foods Market, not the 365 brand, the center’s developer told a city advisory board in early May.
“It will be a ‘grocerant’ where people go for lunch,” said Jeff Garrison, partner at S.J. Collins Enterprises, which owns the center formerly called Lavers International Plaza, just east of Interstate 95 on East Linton Boulevard. The developer wanted to add 10,000 square feet to the main building to make it a Whole Foods store.
The Site Plan Appearance and Review Board unanimously approved the change May 9.
Garrison called it a “change on the fly” and was able to persuade Whole Foods to stay because of the lease signed before Amazon bought the grocery store chain last year.
“The opportunity to open a Whole Foods Market store in Delray Beach means that we will be able to provide the community with a more complete shopping and food experience,” said Juan Nunez, president of Whole Foods Market’s Florida region.
The 365 store was supposed to open by the end of 2018. The change in plans will not provide enough time for the Whole Foods Market to open this year, said Heather McCready, Whole Foods spokeswoman.
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