Disclaimer: I was invited to attend this Media Preview Day at Whole Foods Market 365 in Long Beach as a member of the media. I was not paid or even explicitly asked to write anything in exchange, though I did receive some free product samples. All opinions in this post are my own…and they are fabulous!

 

I’ve been a Whole Foods customer for many many years already, but visiting this new Whole Foods Market 365 location in Long Beach was a novel experience for me. I spent several years of my career before kids in Communications, and have attended or worked at many media events. But this was my first time at a “365” location and my first time with a toddler in tow! Luckily, the publicist for Whole Foods was very understanding of my “mommy blogger” entourage, and my daughter was more than happy to sit in a shopping cart while eating free samples for an hour.

 

Location

You may know that the 365 label is Whole Foods’ “generic” brand that they sell in their grocery stores. But this “365 grocery store” concept takes these products to the next level, where the entire store is meant to feel more accessible than a typical Whole Foods, with “value” prices to match. It still adheres to Whole Foods’ commitment to natural and organic products, and the interior feels like a cross between Sprouts and Trader Joes. It also sells many items outside of the 365 brand, including products from local, small, and sustainable businesses (more on that later).

 

This is only the third Whole Foods Market 365 in Southern California, so I was really excited to check it out. It is located in a brand new office park and shopping center right next to Long Beach Airport. Parts of the complex are still under construction, but from what I saw, which was a lot of reclaimed wood type storefronts with an industrial vibe, it’s going to be a cool spot once completed.

 

Groundwork Coffee

When you walk into the store, the first thing you notice, or rather…smell…is the scent of freshly brewed coffee from this “in-store shop” for Groundwork Coffee Co. I recognized the name from their Venice location, and immediately felt like this Whole Foods Market 365 was going to be my kind of grocery store. I don’t even drink coffee, but I love Groundwork’s ethos, which is all about organic, small batch, sustainable brewing. In addition to an impressive yet edited variety of organic coffee options, they also offer tea, pressed juices, and brunch food all day long. I had a sample of their vegan horchata, and honestly it was the best I’ve ever tasted! I learned and saw and tasted so much at just this one corner of the market, so I wrote a separate post with all the details. Click here to read it.

 

Interior

As I mentioned above, the store feels a bit like a cross between Sprouts and Trader Joes, with the eco-friendly ethics of Whole Foods layered on top of it all. Instead of aisles of tall shelves, this layout is very open, with lots of waist-high cases like bulk bins, freezer drawers, prepared food cases, etc. Because this media day was a week before the store opening, many of the freshly-prepared food sections were empty. But here are some pix of the signage and shelving to give you a sense of what it looks like inside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wine And Cheese

 

As we were told about all the different kinds of cheese sold here, I kinda wished this was an episode of Supermarket Sweep so that I could just clothesline every shelf of this display into my cart and run home to work on my night cheese. But then again, that is kinda my impulse at every cheese display ever, so I practiced my usual composure and moved along.

 

 

Like in all regular Whole Foods locations, this store had an impressive selection of wines and beers. Some were even organically grown and biodynamic to boot.

 

 

One very cool and very 21st century feature of this section was this Vinous app station which allowed you to scan your wine to get more information on that particular vintage and even suggest recipes to pair with it!

As we were touring the store, we also got to meet some of the local vendors whose products are sold here at this Whole Foods Market 365 and sample their wares. Though I usually try to buy organic products as much as possible, I also know that there are many small food producers who are unable to get that Organic label for reasons outside of the way their food is grown. All of the products that were featured during this preview used non-GMO ingredients and other things I like to see on labels like no hormones and no artificial ingredients.

 

Here are some of those products:

 

Masienda Bodega Tortillas

 

These corn tortillas are fresh-pressed and come in three flavors: Blue, Heirloom, and Red. But they all have one thing in common. They all are made from just three ingredients. Three! Made from non-GMO corn and with advisors like chefs Dan Barber (Blue Hill) and Rick Bayless (Frontera Grill), these are as authentic as you can find in a grocery store. The Blue corn flavor was my favorite.

 

 

Kikka Sushi

 

In my younger, single girl days, I used to eat Whole Foods sushi like once a week. It was quick, it was easy, and it was affordable as far as sushi goes. What I liked about this vendor was that their packaging was fairly eco-friendly. They use compostable trays (though still with a plastic top) and sustainably-sourced seafood in keeping with Whole Foods’ standards. Also, they always use real crab meat in all their rolls, which is a huge plus for me. I can’t stand that fake krab stuff that so many places use. Like, it’s tasty and I wouldn’t mind it if it were called what it is, which is a mix of different white fish. It’s the lying that really bothers me!

For vegan sushi lovers, they have a forbidden rice and avocado roll that looked delicious.

 

Larder Bakery

 

Don’t let the name put you off. These pastries are worth every calorie. This Culver City-based bakery is the brainchild of two of the most famous female restauranteurs in America: Suzanne Goin and Caroline Styne (One of the first fine dining experiences I had when I moved to LA was at their West Hollywood spot a.o.c. and it really set the bar quite high). When my daughter saw this table of baked goodies, she threw up both arms above her head and shouted “yay!” She got a buttery, flaky croissant all to herself, and now I think she’ll be expecting one every time we visit the grocery store.

 

Eat Güd

 

Ordinarily, I’m not super into pre-made wraps. I love falafel but prefer it to be warm and preferably swimming in tahini sauce. However, these gluten-free vegan non-GMO super healthy wraps were actually very delicious! There were three varieties and the two pictured above each came with a yummy, flavorful sauce. Despite not having any wheat or gluten, they were surprisingly hearty and filling. One wrap was more than enough for my dinner. This is a small, local company that makes these wraps by hand from scratch. It’s like going to the best hole-in-the-wall falafel place in town, but then it’s also vegan, and planet-friendly.

 

Coolhaus

 

I was so happy to see this ice cream cookie sandwich vendor being featured at this Whole Foods Market 365. Not only because ice cream and cookies makes me want to throw my arms up in the air and yell, “yay!” But also because I knew of them back when they were just a food truck in Los Angeles like 10 years ago, so was thrilled to see how much they’d grown since. This is a female-owned small business. And while they’re not certified organic, they have just about every other kind of ingredient I like to see, and none of the ones I don’t.

 

 

More importantly though, these ice cream cookie sandwiches are suuuuuuper yummy.

 

Yellow Fever

 

On the other side of the store entrance, opposite from Groundwork Coffee Co, was this make-your-own asian rice bowl restaurant. While the food was served up quick service style, it tasted gourmet and felt thoughtfully conceived. Being half Korean, I always love a good Korean bi-bim-bap, and their version of this beef and veggie rice bowl was really excellent. Even the nicer Korean restaurants will sometimes serve it with fatty pieces of ground mystery beef. But their version had big chunks of perfectly grilled hanger steak and a deliciously authentic sauce. A dish any Korean ajumma would feel proud to make. This being a Whole Foods-approved restaurant, Yellow Fever only uses antibiotic free and humanely raised proteins plus no artificial ingredients.

This is also a female-owned local business (their first location is in Torrance), and another really great feature of this Whole Foods Market 365. I got to talk with the chef/owner Kelly Kim, and did a separate post on Yellow Fever which you can read by clicking here.

 

All in all, I was impressed with this Whole Foods Market 365 in Long Beach, and think it’s going to be a very popular spot both for regulars doing their weekly grocery shopping and travelers looking for a quick meal before getting on a plane at LGB. Click here for exact store location and more info.

• food
• Long-Beach
• non-GMO
• organic
• Whole-Foods