Frisco Whole Foods Market opening marked with blessings, bustle

Before its doors officially open Tuesday, Whole Foods Market is offering tours to the public, complete with free samples.

Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7:45 p.m. anyone can walk into the store, learn about it from an employee (or team member, as Whole Foods calls them) and taste products from about a dozen Colorado vendors.

The countrys leading natural and organic grocer held a sneak-peek of the Frisco store for local government officials, ski resort representatives and friends of employees Thursday. The tour began with a blessing by Alex Stark, the companys feng shui consultant.

Stark stood in front of the store and mixed together 99 drops of gin (to represent the heavens), rice (to represent people) and cinnabar (a red powder to represent the earth), explained associate team leader Anthony Morici. Stark also hung crystal balls in specific spots in the back rooms.

Then visitors sampled products: goat cheese from Avalanche Cheese Co. in Basalt, pasture-raised beef from Crystal River Meats in Carbondale, Noosa Yoghurt from Fort Collins and cookies from Kim & Jakes, a gluten-free company in Boulder.

GO LOCAL

The company prides itself on being environmentally conscious and involved in the community.

Those fond of preventing food waste through Dumpster diving should know the Whole Foods receptacles are tall and difficult to get into. And they wont have much food in them.

Part of every employees job is monitoring perishables for blemishes and preventing spoilage. For example, instead of throwing out wilting spinach, Gengel said, the store will use it in its pizzas. Other foods that dont quite meet the stores standards will be donated to the Family and Intercultural Resource Center or composted.

Items that make the Frisco store unique include hand-sized dessert pies named after the town and doughnuts stuffed every morning with custom fillings.

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Frisco Whole Foods Market opening marked with blessings, bustle