Whole Foods draws huge crowd at new Seekonk store opening

More than 500 shoppers lined up before 8 a.m. Thursday as Whole Foods opened a 40,000-square-foot store at 940 Fall River Ave. in Seekonk, giving the East Bay another high-end grocery option and drawing customers from both Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

The turnout was a sharp signal that premium grocers still have room to expand in suburban trade areas where shoppers want convenience, specialty foods and a stronger local assortment close to home. For Whole Foods, the Seekonk site sits just off Interstate 195, a location built to pull traffic from a wider regional catchment than Seekonk alone.

The company said the store’s mix includes more than 1,000 local items from New England, and its assortment was developed with help from John Lawson, Whole Foods’ forager for local and emerging brands. Progressive Grocer said the store is sourcing from more than 200 local suppliers, reinforcing the chain’s effort to sell itself as a regional food market as much as a national brand. That strategy matters in a price-sensitive market because it gives shoppers a reason to trade up for products they cannot easily find at conventional supermarkets.

The opening also lands in the middle of a larger shift on Fall River Avenue. The Whole Foods site is part of an ongoing redevelopment of the parcel, which also includes a TownePlace Suites by Marriott, and the property previously held the Clarion Inn Providence & Seekonk and Dublin Rose Irish Sports Pub. In that sense, the grocery store is doing more than filling a vacant lot. It is helping anchor a mixed-use corridor that depends on steady foot traffic and repeated visits, not just a one-day ribbon cutting.

Opening-day promotions included free samples and tote bags for the first 300 customers, along with live music and vendor tastings during the first hour. Whole Foods said the store will operate from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, a schedule that fits the chain’s aim of making the Seekonk location a routine stop for nearby households rather than a novelty trip. The opening crowd suggested that, in this part of southeastern Massachusetts, there is still demand for a grocery store that sells both local identity and national organic staples.