Whole Foods plans long-awaited West Side Albuquerque store

A store known for its selection of natural and organic foods is coming to Albuquerque’s West Side.

Whole Foods Market is set to occupy a 39,546-square-foot space at Cottonwood Corners shopping center, according to a memorandum of lease document filed with the Bernalillo County Clerk’s office and reviewed by the Journal on Tuesday.

The space, formerly occupied by a Legacy Furniture store that closed in January, sits in between Best Buy and Michaels. Whole Foods, which is owned by Amazon, did not respond to the Journal’s requests for comment but a Commercial Association of Realtors New Mexico listing indicates the store is expected to open in 2027.

The listing, updated late last year, was the first to signal that a national specialty store would be joining the center, but it didn’t state what store. In October, Josh Simon — CEO of SimonCRE, the property’s owner — said there was “some big stuff” coming to the center, but also didn’t name the store, citing confidentiality agreements.

The lease agreement with Whole Foods is for 20 years, according to the memorandum of lease, dated effective as of Dec. 11.

In addition to Best Buy and Michaels, the Whole Foods will join a lineup of retail offerings that includes Barnes & Noble, Ross Dress for Less and Sierra Trading — the last of which is an outdoor and adventure merchandiser slated to open in 2026.

The Whole Foods is a key piece to SimonCRE’s broader redevelopment plan for Cottonwood Corners, which the developer acquired in 2024. Simon previously told the Journal that the plan includes renovating the center and bringing in new tenants.

When SimonCRE purchased the property, it had been owned by the same entity that built it — Coldwell Banker Commercial — in the 1990s. The developer made the acquisition hoping to “reimagine” the center by moving away from traditional big box store offerings, like Toys “R” Us, and ushering in lifestyle retailers that “bring in value” for the community, Simon said in October.

Simon declined to comment on the addition of Whole Foods but said more is coming, as the developer is currently in negotiations with another tenant for a roughly 7,899-square-foot space in between Michaels and Ross. The space — once a hidden, vacant part of Michaels — was reconfigured to maximize the shopping center’s space by adding a new storefront.

Cottonwood Corners’ Whole Foods marks the chain’s first venture onto the West Side. Albuquerque currently has two Whole Foods on the eastern side of the city, and there is one location in Santa Fe.

The store’s West Side expansion is long overdue, according to Greg Foltz, a commercial broker and president of Coldwell Banker Commercial.

“I think it's going to be a tremendous benefit, both to the center and to the West Side,” Foltz said. “I know a lot of customers that live on the West Side have been asking Whole Foods for years to place a store over there, so it's nice to see.”