First Whole Foods With Amazon’s Just Walk Out Tech Opens

The first Whole Foods Market to feature Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology has officially opened. The 21,500-square-foot store at 2323 Wisconsin Ave. N.W. in Washington, D.C.’s Glover Park neighborhood opened Feb. 23 and in addition to the contactless shopping experience, features more than 800 local products from nearly 100 local suppliers—all hand-selected by Whole Foods Market Mid Atlantic’s Local Forager Kathleen Leverenz. Click through for an inside look of the store and its offerings.

As previously announced, the Glover Park store, open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, is the first of two Whole Foods stores expected to open this year with Just Walk Out technology, which gives customers the choice to skip the register for a faster, more convenient shopping experience. The second will be located in Sherman Oaks, Calif. Upon entering the Glover Park store, customers using the Just Walk Out shopping method scan their Whole Foods Market or Amazon app, their palm for Amazon One or insert a credit or debit card linked to their Amazon account. When done shopping, they exit the store using the same method used for entry, and a digital receipt is emailed.

The store’s Prepared Foods section features hot and cold food bars and a large assortment of ready-to-eat soups, in addition to Kikka Sushi, New York style pizza and a hot bistro station that accommodates a variety of tastes and dietary preferences.

The produce department spotlights organic, conventional, local and Sourced for Good produce, as well as local offerings such as packaged salads from Bowery Farming’s Nottingham, Md., farm and Gotham Greens’ Baltimore farm, and dressings from Tessamae’s.

Local products extend beyond the produce department and can be found throughout the entire store. Grocery products from local creators include snacks from Route 11 Potato Chips and Snacklins; unique granolas from Michele’s Granola, Oh-Mazing Granola Snacks and Hudson Henry Baking Co.; and authentic Ethiopian lentil dips and injera crips from Tsiona Foods.

The store’s bakery offers house-made custom decorated cakes, scratch-made breads and options for dairy-free, gluten-free and vegan treats. The department features items from several local bakeries, including cookies and pies from Whisked, breads from Crest Hill Bakery and cake slices from Sweet and Natural.

A full-service butcher is available to custom cut meats, debone poultry and prepare special orders. The department includes house-made sausage and oven-ready items, as well as smoked meats from Wellshire Farms that are exclusive to Whole Foods Market with no nitrates or additives and Animal Welfare Certified pork from Thompson Farms.

The seafood counter also provides a full-service experience that includes cleaning shrimp, custom cutting and deboning fillets and preparing whole fish to preference. All seafood is either sustainable wild-caught or Responsibly Farmed. Local offerings include smoked fish from Ivy City Smokehouse, Maryland crabmeat from M. Clayton Seafood Company, whole fish from George’s Seafood and “Skinny Dipper” oysters from True Chesapeake Oyster Co. 

The specialty department is designed to celebrating cheesemakers, artisan producers and specialty foods such as chocolate. It is overseen by an in-store cheese monger who can custom cut cheese, offer recommendations for any occasion and create custom boards. Local offerings across the department include the Merry Goat Round Spruce Reserve from Firefly Farms, Bourbon Barrel Aged Chocolate from Harper Macaw and Everything Crackers from Firehook.

The Wellness and Beauty section also features local items, including soy candles from Freres Branchiaux Candles and Handmade Habitat, Clay Mask and Orange Tolu Soap from District Batch, African Black Soap and Whipped Shea Butter from Shea Radiance and food-themed dish towels from The Neighborgoods.