Former Earth Fare space in south Charlotte lands another specialty grocery store
Whole Foods Market will open in south Charlotte, taking over the space previously occupied by Earth Fare, which closed due to intense grocery competition in the area.
The Austin, Texas-based grocer will move into the former Earth Fare location in Ballantyne at Toringdon Market shopping center at 12235 North Community House Road, according to property manager Kite Realty’s website. Whole Foods has been owned by online retail giant Amazon since 2017.
Whole Foods confirmed the expansion on Monday, saying the south Charlotte store is in development.
Whole Foods did not provide more details, including when the store is expected to open. Kite officials did not respond to a request for comment Monday
Whole Foods’ plan involves minor site and utility improvements to the space to accommodate the change, according to a land development construction permit filed in September by Kite to the city of Charlotte. The store is 26,546 square feet, according to the site plan.
Whole Foods is a certified organic grocer, known for selling locally-sourced products and as a place for gathering for its wine bars and in-store restaurants.
Earth Fare closed the store in January. The Asheville-based grocer, which had anchored the center off Johnson Road near Interstate 485, originally opened in 2007.
Within just a few miles of Toringdon Market are several other stores, including Publix, Trader Joe’s, The Fresh Market, Sprouts Farmers Market and Harris Teeter. Rochester, N.Y.-based Wegmans broke ground in September to make its Charlotte debut with an over 110,000-square-foot store in fall 2026, just 1 mile away on the same road.
Founded in 1980, Whole Food has nearly 550 stores in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. with more than 105,000 employees, according to the company website. Whole Foods has three stores in Charlotte and one in Huntersville.
Charlotte’s grocery store competition
Whole Foods will face steep competition from nearly 730 grocery stores, including recent expansions by Publix and Sprouts Farmers Market, to capture a piece of the $10.4 billion market in the Charlotte region.
Discount giant Walmart has dominated the field for six years, followed by Matthews-based grocer Harris Teeter and Salisbury-based Food Lion.
Other recent store expansions include:
- On Oct. 9, Lowes Foods opened an Indian Land, S.C., store.
- In September, Publix at Arboretum debuted at 7933 Providence Road in Charlotte. It’s the Florida-based chain’s 26th Charlotte-area store and third store opening here this year. In May, Publix opened a 47,000-square-foot store at 12925 Albemarle Road in east Charlotte. And in April, Publix opened a nearly 56,000-square-foot grocery store at 11525 Carmel Commons Blvd.
- In August, organic specialty grocer Sprouts Farmers Market opened its third store at 110 E. 36th St. in NoDa, helping add to the sparse grocery options in the neighborhood.
- In January, Food Lion opened at 155 Crosstie Lane in Troutman in Iredell County.
- In 2027, Harris Teeter will open two 60,000-square-foot stores in York County, South Carolina — a Fort Mill store on Fort Mill Parkway and one in Lake Wylie at 5366 Hwy. 55 E., according to The Herald.
- Trader Joe’s will open its fourth Charlotte-area store in Matthews.
- Historic West End Partners is planning a 15,000-square-foot cooperative grocery store in partnership with Weaver Street Market, which has four stores in the Raleigh region.
- The West Boulevard Coalition is opening Charlotte’s first cooperative grocery store, Three Sisters Market. The full-service grocery store will debut in an area that has been without a traditional supermarket for over 30 years. The opening was expected this year but has stalled due to lack of funding.
- California-based grocer Spangler’s will build an 8,000-square-foot store at Kohler and Statesville avenues, north of uptown.
This story was originally published November 10, 2025 at 10:16 AM with the headline "Former Earth Fare space in south Charlotte lands another specialty grocery store."
