Updated Sept. 20:

Wheatsville Food Co-op opened its 4001 South Lamar store Sept. 20 at 7:30 a.m. after a ribbon-cutting ceremony, the company announced. Though the store's front entrance and canopy are not yet complete, the retail food cooperative said it will add those features before its official grand opening event in October.

Original story

Wheatsville Food Co-op is putting the finishing touches on its new store location in the Lamar Oaks Shopping Plaza and is planning a soft opening in September.

The retail food cooperative had announced it would open its second store at 4001 South Lamar in May 2012. Brand Manager Raquel Dadomo said the location will hold a preview party for invited guests on Sept. 14 and has not yet finalized the September soft opening date for the public. The 22,000-square-foot site is still under construction, but progress has been steady and the location will hold a grand opening celebration on Oct. 19 from noon to 4 p.m., Dadomo said.

Once complete, the store will include features such as compost bins for shoppers, bike parking and a bike repair stand, and a 2,500-square-foot in-house artisan bakehouse providing fresh bread to both Wheatsville locations.

"We'll have a community room to host demos and tastings, and we'll have indoor and outdoor seating," she added.

The natural foods cooperative grocery store stocks more than 1,600 local products, an average of 80 percent organic produce and an average of 30 or more local produce items.

Dadomo noted energy efficiency has been a focus for the new location, and the site will feature skylights, LED lighting that will auto-adjust according to light needs throughout the day, as well as more than 35 Solatube lights, which will direct natural sunlight into the store using reflective fiber optics.

"This store has been in development for several years and it's about time we got everyone together for a big high five," General Manager Dan Gillotte said in a news release. "For us, it's all about celebrating the creativity, resourcefulness, dedication and shared vision we've been working towards for a very long. We have a beautiful store and we can't wait to open to the public this September."

Updates on the South Lamar store will be posted on the Wheatsville Food Co-op website.