ELK GROVE, CA (MPG) - Residents here welcomed the opening of another business: the second in as many days to The Village shopping center along Elk Grove Boulevard on Sept. 16. 

Whole Foods Market opened at about 9 a.m. at 8100 Elk Grove Blvd. to a line of excited customers or inquirers at least 200 long. Barnes & Noble opened the day before. 

“I’m most excited that one Whole Foods is here in Elk Grove,” said Assemblymember Stephanie Nguyen, D-Elk Grove.

According to Whole Foods, the next closest store is at 4315 Arden Way, Sacramento. 

Whole Foods gives Elk Grove families options for whole, natural and unprocessed foods, Nguyen added. And customers will be able to try dozens and dozens of cuisines, she said. 

People started waiting in line at about 5 a.m., Nguyen said. 

“Look at the community response,” Elk Grove Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen said shortly after Whole Foods let customers inside. “It’s quite tremendous.”

The Elk Grove Whole Foods is the fourth in the Sacramento region and the 94th in California, according to the company. Operating hours are 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. each day and the store is employing 175 people. 

The store hired 65% from the local area and the rest transferred from other Whole Foods stores, a Whole Foods spokesperson said. 

The store occupies 43,000 square feet and has more than 1,500 products from suppliers in California, according to the company. 

Whole Foods prohibits “hydrogenated fats, high-fructose corn syrup and more than 300 flavors, colors, sweeteners and other ingredients commonly found in food,” a company spokesperson said. 

And the company bans more than 240 ingredients, such as phthalates, parabens and microbeads, from the beauty and body-care products it sells, the spokesperson said. 

But it has a reputation for higher prices. 

Asked about that, Elk Grove Store Team Leader Anthony Galli said, “First and foremost is that I would lean into our 365 Value brand where we meet high-quality standards with value. You can fill your pantry with staples across the board.”

And Whole Foods has promotional prices throughout the store, Galli added, with yellow signs indicating deeper, weekly discounts.

The location of Whole Foods had Melissa Cvijanovic excited when she dropped by Sept. 16. She lives close enough to walk to the store, she said.  

When asked about prices, she said, “You know, I have never really shopped at Whole Foods. I’m here today to see what they have.”

Her son was disappointed when Amazon closed the nearby Amazon Fresh store. 

She was hoping that if Whole Foods is anything like Amazon Fresh that it will have deals for Prime members, she said. 

Amazon Prime members get an additional 10% off sale items, Galli said. And Prime members can buy discounted items for members only, “like $2 off rotisseries on Tuesdays or 12 oysters for $12 on Friday,” he said.