Ridgewood is losing its edge.
Some residents of the increasingly trendy nabe are furious as “corporate slop” Whole Foods plans to come to town, opening what could be its first outpost in Queens.
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.
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.
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.
But some observers fumed about the announcement, expressing fears the “gentrification indicator” could be the final nail in the coffin for the hipster mecca.
“Oh man. The Brooklynization of Queens has begun,” Asad Dandia, a historian and walking tour leader, wrote on X.
“A Ridgewood Whole Foods… It might be over in ways I’ve never thought possible,” one user wrote on X.
“Peak gentrification indicator,” wrote another.
Some were even brainstorming ideas for how to protest the Jeff Bezos-owned chain’s new opening.
“Long-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,” one person wrote on X.
“Real people who love Ridgewood don’t live here because they like corporate slop places.”
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.
It is not clear exactly when the new Whole Foods plans to open its doors, but the company signed its lease in October.
CoStar estimates that rent for the building goes for up to $47 per square foot, according to Crain’s, which first reported the lease signing.
Ridgewood has surged in popularity in recent years, with StreetEasy in January naming it as the No. 1 “NYC neighborhood to watch,” with the Queens enclave racking up the most searches of the five boroughs in a single year.
Whole Foods did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.
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