Whole Foods reveals it's opening a new store in Toronto amid closure of two others

Whole Foods, the health-focused supermarket chain with somewhat of a cult following, has just confirmed the closure of two of its Toronto stores — but, alongside the less-positive news, the company has shared that it will be opening a new outpost in the city to make up for it.

Staff at the Leaside and Yonge-Sheppard locations of the American purveyor of organic, good-for-you groceries and pre-made meals found out early on Friday morning that their workplaces were set to close later this month; on August 22, to be exact, a Whole Foods spokesperson confirmed to blogTO after our initial reporting on what were, earlier this morning, just rumours.

"Like any retail business, we regularly evaluate each of our stores and make decisions to position the company for long-term success," a company representative told us over email around 11 a.m.

"We are committed to supporting all impacted team members and making any transition as seamless as possible, and look forward to continuing to serve our customers in the area at our Whole Foods Market Yorkville and Markham locations."

They also mentioned that the brand still intends to expand further into the Canadian market with multiple new emporiums — including at least one in downtown Toronto.

The grocer will be located somewhere on King Street West, with an exact address TBA, in 2026. No additional details were provided at this time aside from the fact that Whole Foods will "continue to serve the Toronto community and provide our customers with an excellent shopping experience" at the new digs. 

But, more information will be made available closer to the launch date.

Meanwhile, more than 100 other forthcoming Whole Foods are currently in the pipeline worldwide.