Ridgewood is losing its edge.<\/p>\n
Some residents of the increasingly trendy nabe are furious<\/a> as \u201ccorporate slop\u201d Whole Foods plans to come to town, opening what could be its first outpost in Queens.<\/p>\n The upscale Amazon-owned grocery store chain recently inked a 15-year lease on the former Beaux-Arts historic bank building at 55-60 Myrtle Ave., according to documents filed with the city on Wednesday.<\/a><\/p>\n The former Rite Aid at 55-60 Myrtle Ave. in Ridgewood is being eyed as a Whole Foods. Google Maps<\/p>\n The grocer takeover could mark the first Queens location for Whole Foods, though another location is slated to open in Long Island City in 2028. There are no operating shops in Staten Island or the Bronx.<\/p>\n The Ridgewood store will take up the entire 28,000-square-foot first floor of the three-story former bank on Myrtle Avenue, which housed a Rite Aid until the chain shuttered for good this year.<\/a><\/p>\n But some observers fumed about the announcement, expressing fears the \u201cgentrification indicator\u201d could be the final nail in the coffin for the hipster mecca.<\/p>\n \u201cOh man. The Brooklynization of Queens has begun,\u201d Asad Dandia, a historian and walking tour leader, wrote on X.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cA Ridgewood Whole Foods\u2026 It might be over in ways I\u2019ve never thought possible,\u201d one user wrote on X.<\/p>\n \u201cPeak gentrification indicator,\u201d wrote another.<\/p>\n Some were even brainstorming ideas for how to protest the Jeff Bezos-owned chain\u2019s new opening.<\/p>\n \u201cLong-shot here but I really hate this so much. so many unique and amazing local businesses are going to suffer because of this. It needs to be stopped,\u201d one person wrote<\/a> on X.<\/p>\n \u201cReal people who love Ridgewood don\u2019t live here because they like corporate slop places.\u201d<\/p>\n Whole Foods signed a 15-year lease for the space in October. Christopher Sadowski<\/p>\n Several small, mom-and-pop grocers already line the block, including one located two doors down from the former bank building and another across the street. The nearest large grocery chain is Food Bazaar, located a 5-minute walk away.<\/p>\n It is not clear exactly when the new Whole Foods plans to open its doors, but the company signed its lease in October.<\/p>\n CoStar estimates that rent for the building goes for up to $47 per square foot, according to Crain\u2019s, which first reported the lease signing. <\/a><\/p>\n Ridgewood residents worry the new Whole Foods will usher in gentrification. MediaNews Group via Getty Images<\/p>\n