Whole Foods Just Launched A Home Decor Boutique You’re About To Fall In Love With

Whole Foods has long been an oasis groceries, pre-made goods, and fresh produce that rivals the thwacked apples I often find in my grocery store's fruit baskets. Since the company was acquired by Amazon, though, they've really upped their game when it comes to what they sell, and now they're taking it even a step further. Whole Foods' new home decor boutique "Plant & Plate" just opened inside their Bridgewater, NJ store, where it will hawk home goods and other items.

As reported by Pop Sugar, Whole Foods announced the new venture on their Instagram page last month. The store-within-a-store is called "Plant & Plate," and will be a "lifestyle shop featuring a variety of home, beauty, and garden goods rooted in nature," per the company. Spokesperson Genevieve Monette gave a statement to Pop Sugar, via email:

At Plant & Plate, we offer a variety of beauty, garden, and home goods, all rooted in nature. Featured products include Hedley & Bennett aprons, essential oils and barware along with local favorites like Beaucycled jewelry, floral crafts from Hoboken, and Brooklyn-based Apotheke candles. The shop also features pottery by Bridgewater's own Keiko Inouye.

Bringing in new items that are trending like handmade pottery, copper accessories, and seasonal home décor pieces, we are adding another layer to our customer's shopping experience. It's easy to stop into the shop and pick up a little gift for someone (or for yourself!) while on a regular trip to the grocery store.

Whole Foods is usually pretty good at curating their wares, as evidenced by the pristine produce they sale, as well as by some of the products they offer in their signature low cost Whole Foods 365 Everyday Value pre-packaged food line, with highlights including their 365 Everyday Four Cheese Thin Crust Pizza and 365 Toasted Coconut Chips. So there's a good chance, then, that Plant & Plate will boast some pretty good, cute lifestyle and art gear, and if you're a fan of home design and lifestyle stores like A&G Merch and Brooklyn Reclamation in New York; Needles and Pens on Valencia Street in San Francisco's Mission District, and the Golden State in Venice Beach in Los Angeles, Plant & Plate can offer a more local (and probably slightly cheaper) selection, plus you can also pick up a bag of apples.

There's not a ton of information about Plant & Plate available, other than that it opened a few months ago, and is currently open daily from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. at the Bridgewater Whole Foods at 319 Chimney Rock Road. For now, that's the only Plant & Plate location, though Pop Sugar reports there might be more on the way in the future. "When we came up with the Plant & Plate idea, Bridgewater was the next store opening on the horizon and we thought it'd be a great place to debut this new shop," Monette told Pop Sugar. "It's been quite popular since we opened in March 2018. It's a brand new concept for us and we are excited to see where it lead us in future store designs and concept."

A quick look at the Bridgewater shop's Yelp page yields no information about Plant & Plate, but the Whole Foods, which is relatively new, does seem to be getting some high ratings from shoppers, so the little boutique may turn out to be a hit. It's also noteworthy that Bridgewater has a Wegmans, which serves as a competition of sorts for Whole Foods — Wegmans has a massive bread and candy aisle, in addition to some great prepared foods and plenty of popular Wegmans-brand packaged goods. By adding in a lifestyle shop, Whole Foods is definitely giving Wegmans a run for its money.