ThisWeek Community Newspapers

The first Whole Foods Market in Ohio won't open until September, but the sign letting people know it's coming soon will go up in a sign-raising ceremony today (July 21).

Whole Foods is renovating the 75,000-square-feet space formerly occupied by a Big Bear store at 3670 W. Dublin-Granville Road, near Sawmill Road.

Whole Foods won't disclose how much money the renovation is costing, but "it's a sizable investment," according to Joe Flueckiger, the store's team leader.

He estimated the store, in the Columbus portion of the Dublin City School District, will employ about 300 people.

The target opening date for the store is Sept. 7.

A second Ohio store will open in Cleveland in 2006, according to Michele Mooney, a spokeswoman for the Texas-based chain.

The 25-year-old national grocery chain specializes in foods that are "unadulterated by artificial additives, sweeteners, colorings and preservatives," according to the company's Web site.

The chain is marketing the store on Dublin-Granville Road as a "shopping experience unlike any other in Ohio."

To that end, the store will boast a 7,000-square-foot produce department, sell more than 300 types of cheeses and offer more than 1,800 wine and microbrew products.

Whole Foods will feature two cafes inside the store, a 100-seat version for adults and a 50-seat variation that is "kid-friendly."

The site will include a "cooking and lifestyle" school, as well as a pasta bar featuring pizzas from a wood-fired oven.

The company has 171 stores in 29 states, Washington, D.C., Canada and the United Kingdom.

The location will be the second-largest store in the chain when it opens, Flueckiger said.

The restaurant inside the Clarion Hotel Dublin, 600 Metro Place North, has received a facelift and now has a new name.

CWB Property Management Inc. recently announced it is calling the restaurant inside the hotel the Dublin Metro Bar & Grill.

The name change and renovation are part of a strategy announced by the company last summer, when it bought the former Wyndham Hotel site for nearly $6-million.

CWB Property Management has put more than $3-million worth of renovations into the hotel since the June 2004 purchase.

Bill Wolfe of CWB Property Management said upgrades will continue in the restaurant's bar, including possible plans for a patio.

For additional information on the hotel or the restaurant, call (614) 764-2200 or visit the Web site at www.clariondublin.com.