Cherry Hill Mayor: Whole Foods Helping Transform Ellisburg Center

A Whole Foods store that has been long anticipated by members of the community opened in Cherry Hill on Wednesday, and township officials are touting it as one of the new faces of the Ellisburg Shopping Center.

Mayor Chuck Cahn joined officials from Whole Foods Market and Federal Realty Investment Trust on Wednesday morning to celebrate the celebrate the grand opening, according to the township.

Cahn joined officials for a breakfast prior to the store’s official opening at 9 a.m. He was joined by Council members Jim Bannar, Susan Shin Angulo and Melinda Kane, Camden County Freeholder Jeff Nash, and hundreds of eager shoppers.

Cahn touted the new 45,000 square foot supermarket as a powerful engine for economic development and revitalization in Cherry Hill and the region.

“I’m proud to welcome Whole Foods Market as our newest neighbor in Cherry Hill,” Cahn said. “In addition to creating jobs for residents in our region, Whole Foods has injected new life and energy into the Ellisburg Shopping Center and has served as a catalyst for additional growth and reinvestment in our community.”

“Whole Foods Market is thrilled to be a part of this community,” whole Foods Market Cherry Hill Store Team Leader Joe Greenlee said. “It means so much to be able to open the doors and welcome our new neighbors, customers and Team Members. We’ve already built many meaningful relationships in the community – and look forward to those only continuing to grow.” 

It is the 12th Whole Foods location in New Jersey.

Cahn credited Whole Foods and LourdesCare at Cherry Hill, which opened last year, with the transformation of the Route 70/Kings Highway/Brace Road corridor into one of Cherry Hill’s most vibrant and thriving locations.

The opening of Whole Foods coincided with a complete facelift for the center. Cahn said Whole Foods’ arrival has helped attract new tenants, such as Honey Grow, to fill vacant storefronts. The center also sports new ride-and-white signage.

With 1,344 solar panels on the store’s roof and energy-saving green doors in each department, Whole Foods Cherry Hill also serves as a centerpiece of sustainable development in town, Cahn said.

“Whole Foods’ arrival has helped to reinvent Ellisburg as a prime location for shopping in the region, inspired growth and reinvestment across our community, and solidifies Cherry Hill’s reputation as a destination for major national and international retailers,” Cahn said. “Complete with its unique features and plentiful seating, I have no doubt that this will become more than a supermarket; it will serve as a gathering place for our community. This not your typical supermarket, and it’s not your typical Whole Foods – it is a special store to fit our special quality of life.”

Whole Foods is the world’s leading natural and organic supermarket and the country’s first national certified organic grocer.

This Whole Foods includes a number of innovations for the chain, including a pop-up space featuring local artisans and entrepreneurs.

It is the only Whole Foods in the Mid-Atlantic Region to offer Kosher fish, and customers can watch the store’s artisans at work in an in-house “art space.”

Other unique features include made-in-house game sausage, a pickle bar, bagels boiled and baked in-house, an organic espresso bar, DIY body care and cleaning products, and house-made mozzarella, seasonal salad dressings, kettle corn and tortilla chips.

Wednesday’s grand opening capped a week of festivities surrounding the store’s opening, complete with food, fun and festivities, including live music and performances. 

Last Thursday, hundreds of residents turned out for a Food Truck Festival in the shopping center’s parking lot, and more than 1,300 people received a sneak-peek at the inside of the store during guided tours on Sunday and Monday