Attention Whole Foods lovers: on March 15, 2017, Whole Foods opened a new store in DC at H Street NE. The 40,000-square-foot store has all you have ever wanted in a single grocery store. Apart from being stocked with all the products you love, it features lots of things that don't include grocery shopping (ex: a sit-down bar and lounge). Here are some delicious reasons to go check out the new Whole Foods in DC at H Street NE:
1. Asian Food Station, Paper Horse, by Maketto's Chef
This is the third in-store Paper Horse location at a WF DC store (others are at Foggy Bottom and Pentagon City). Eric Bruner-Yang, the owner and chef of Maketto and Toki Underground, started Paper Horse, which serves what people are calling "the best Asian comfort food" and features three different noodle soups, dumplings and Chinese burgers served on his famous steamed buns.
2. Café & Juice Bar
What is grocery shopping without sipping on a latte, a green juice, or even an açaí bowl? This coffee and juice bar features draft nitro cold brews, lattes and teas that you can pair up with a warm Blind Dog Bakery milk and dark chocolate chip cookie.
3. Mochi Ice-Cream Freezer
Imagine taking a box and filling it up with any amount of mochi of any flavor you want. When I visited, there were seven flavors to offer – classic red bean, green tea, vanilla, strawberry, double chocolate, coffee, and mango.
4. A Cheese Paradise
Once you walk into the cheese section, you will be amazed of the variety of cheeses you can get your hands on from all over the world. Overwhelmed by all the options? There's a cheese specialist that will give you an (infinite) amount of samples, until he or she is certain that you are buying the perfect cheese for your personal taste.
5. Full-Service Sit-down Bar & Lounge
The bar features wine by the glass and sixteen different local-craft beers directly from the tap. Let's not forget the raclette (melted French cheese) station. This H street Lounge has three huge TVs that make this place perfect to watch sports, eat, and drink with your friends.
6. Craft Beers on Tap...and Happy Hour
As I mentioned, there are sixteen types of local-crafted beers on tap. The bartender is a specialist, so don't hesitate to ask him about the story behind the crafting of each beer. The tap handles are vintage microphones celebrating the corridor’s music history (The Apollo Theater was previously here). Not only are the beers cheap, but there's also happy hour from 4 to 6pm on weekdays.
7. Outdoor Patio
This is the first outside seating arrangement in the H street corridor. In fact, this neighborhood is recently booming with trendy stores and high-end restaurants, so while you sit outside and enjoy some high-quality food, you can look around to see what your next adventure will be.
If you aren't already excited about H street's WF store, get ready for this news: Whole Foods has announced plans to open other two stores in DC, one in Shaw and another near Nationals Park in Southeast. In the meantime, head out to the new Whole Foods in DC on H street. It's for sure their best location at the moment.