First look at the Whole Foods Market Daily Shop, which debuts this morning on 14th Street

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

The Whole Foods Market Daily Shop debuts this morning at 409 E. 14th St. between Avenue A and First Avenue. Doors open at 8 a.m. 

I received a sneak preview yesterday...

I met with local Forager John Lawson (below with, from left, Kristina Sosa and Veronica Delia), who used to work at 4th Street Food Co-Op many years ago.

He showed me around the store and pointed out the shop's local products, including Divya's, Mimi Cheng's and Genio by Una Pizza Napoletana. Lawson says 10 to 20% of the items in the shop, or over 400 products, are local.

The Whole Foods Market Daily Shop differs from the larger-footprint WF stores in that it has no butcher, seafood or cheese counter ... not to mention bulk foods or gallons of water for sale. 

There's a beer section, a grab-and-go/heat-and-eat, produce, and plentiful meal prep options.

Here's a look around...

There is also a Juice & Java counter...

During the tour, I noticed nothing was under lock and key, including the Manuka honey, which is locked up at other Whole Foods locations. What is the most stolen item, according to loss prevention teams? Frozen shrimp!

There isn't an Amazon return counter, although that might change if the neighborhood requests one.

Store employees told me, "There's no Amazon counter — yet, sometimes stores wait to put one in until the store's settled, and it is possible in the future."

Two staffed registers accept cash; all other registers are credit/debit/EBT card only and self-checkout. 

The self-checkout lanes are also palm-equipped for biometric data if you want to use a palm scanner.

The Daily Market concept is "to come in every day and pick up what you need for grab-and-go, and do your full shopping at Bowery or Union Square Whole Foods," a rep tells me. 

And what about the decision to open a Whole Foods across the street from Trader Joe's? 

"We feel there is an audience for both," says Veronica Delia from Whole Foods corporate communications team. "A lot of customers will cherry-pick," and "We're very competitive in the market." 

Adds John Lawson, "We think we offer a better shop than Trader Joe's." [Shots fired!]

Meanwhile, opening day festivities include... for anyone waiting in line at 7 a.m. (the usual opening time), there will be free Abe's mini muffins and Nguyen coffee. And for the first 300 people in the door, there is a free Whole Foods Stuytown tote.

Shop hours after opening day? Daily from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m. 

This is the second Whole Foods Market Daily Shop to open in Manhattan (the UES debuted last fall). Another location will open on June 4 in Hell's Kitchen.

 Previously on EV Grieve: 

• This is when the Whole Foods Market Daily Shop will debut in the East Village next month