"We have a few (businesses) that are open, and a lot that will open with Whole Foods, sort of in that same time period," Jeff Garrison, principal at developer SJC Ventures, told Richmond BizSense in late October.
Midlothian Depot, the new center at Midlothian Turnpike and Alverser Drive, won't open all at once. It is filling in around one date: Thursday, Nov. 19, when Chesterfield's first Whole Foods Market opens at 1051 Steam Ave. As of late October, the Depot was a mostly finished building with a couple of storefronts open. Many of the restaurants, shops and services are expected around the same time as the grocery store, and the developer's forecast puts several more before the end of the year.
If you live off Route 60, in Brandermill or Woodlake, or anywhere a Midlothian Turnpike errand is part of your week, this timing affects when the Depot becomes useful to you and what you'll actually find there on each visit.
What opening morning at 1051 Steam Ave. looks like
Whole Foods laid out the opening-day plan in its official announcement dated Oct. 21, 2026. The details that matter if you plan to be there early:
- Doors open at 8 a.m. on Nov. 19. Regular hours after that are 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
- The first 300 customers in line get a limited-edition Midlothian tote bag and a Secret Saver coupon worth up to $100 off.
- Morning samples include coffee from Blanchard's Coffee Roasting Co., treats from Whisked by Jenna and cold-pressed juices from Urban Remedy, along with other national brands throughout the store.
- Grocery Pickup won't be ready on day one. Whole Foods says it will be available "shortly after opening."
India Lawal leads the store as Store Team Leader. Whole Foods is also marking the opening with food and money donations to Community Access & Supportive Services, a nonprofit that already picks up surplus food from the chain's Richmond-area stores on a regular schedule.
If curbside pickup is how you usually shop, plan to walk the aisles for at least the first stretch.
A store stocked heavily from Virginia and nearby states
Whole Foods describes the store as 37,636 square feet. It will be the chain's third in greater Richmond, after Short Pump in western Henrico and Sauer Center in Richmond, and its 17th in Virginia. Until now, the closest options for Chesterfield shoppers were across the river.
The opening shelves lean regional. The company says the Midlothian store will carry more than 390 items from Virginia and neighboring states. Here is where some of the names you'll recognize show up, by department:
- Grocery: Blanchard's packaged coffee, Don Sebastián salsas and Blue Ridge Bucha kombucha
- Beer and cider: Hardywood Park Craft Brewery, The Virginia Beer Co. and Potter's Craft Cider, among more than 270 craft beers and ciders and 350 wines
- Meat and seafood: heritage chicken from LaBelle Patrimoine, smoked salmon from Ivy City Smokehouse, crab cake bases from Jimmy's Famous Seafood, and fresh oysters and fish that change daily
- Cheese counter: crackers from Firehook and Savannah Grace Southern Snacks, plus charcuterie from Naturalissima
- Prepared foods: hot and salad bars, pizza by the slice, a Market Sandwich counter and sushi rolled daily by Genji
The prepared-foods counter may be the department that matters most to the rest of the Depot. A grocery store with a hot bar and a sandwich counter will draw a weekday lunch crowd, and that's the same crowd the restaurants next door will be competing for once they open.
The bakery is also rolling out its holiday items in time for opening, including Brown Sugar Apple Pie and a Holiday Cookie Box. The store opens a week before Thanksgiving, so it's ready in time for holiday food shopping.
Who's next door, and when
The rest of the center is where the staged opening shows. According to Richmond BizSense's Oct. 23 report, here is where the 87,500-square-foot retail portion stood in late October:
| Status as of late October 2026 | Tenants | What that means for a visit |
|---|---|---|
| Already open | Cheba Hut sandwich shop, AT&T | Open now, before the anchor arrives |
| Opening Nov. 19 | Whole Foods Market | Confirmed date and hours |
| Expected before the end of 2026 | Dave's Hot Chicken, Turning Point, Pure Green, J.Crew, Warby Parker, Petfolk veterinary clinic, Lovesac | Developer's forecast; no specific dates announced |
| In the works | Paris Baguette, Blue Fish Grill, Bibibop, Wonder, Woof Gang, VIO med spa, Inspire nail salon | Signed or planned; timing not reported |
Only one name in the middle row has a firm date. The seven tenants in the "before the end of 2026" group come from Garrison's forecast. He also said the center is largely leased and should be fully committed within a few weeks. The Depot's tenant list has changed before, so treat the restaurant names as plans until a business posts its own opening date.
Why the order matters
Whole Foods is the one tenant with a published date and set hours, and Garrison describes the rest of the opening in relation to it: "a lot that will open with Whole Foods, sort of in that same time period." The grocery store's date is the one fixed point on the calendar, and the smaller tenants are timed loosely around it.
For someone living nearby, that means the Depot will feel different each time you go between now and January:
- Before Nov. 19: a sandwich at Cheba Hut and a phone errand at AT&T are the only reasons to stop in.
- From Nov. 19: a full grocery run, a prepared-foods lunch and coffee samples on opening morning.
- Later in the year, if the forecasts hold: a Dave's Hot Chicken or Turning Point stop before or after shopping, a Warby Parker appointment, or a Petfolk vet visit on the same trip.
The mix of tenants points to a center built for repeat errands. A veterinary clinic, an eyewear shop, a pet groomer in Woof Gang and a grocery store all bring people back on a schedule. That matches what the developer has built. Construction started in early 2025 on the roughly $100 million project, which also includes 60 for-sale townhomes by Eastwood Homes on the same 13-acre site. Some of the Depot's customers will live within walking distance.
Even Whole Foods tied the building to its setting. The company says the store's design blends Virginia's Colonial architecture with modern finishes, using locally sourced wood, stone and brick.
An older name for this stretch of Midlothian
"Depot" is a fitting name for this part of Chesterfield. A historical overview from the Mid-Lothian Mines park group traces Midlothian's settlement to its coal mines. It reports commercial mining in Chesterfield by 1730 and notes that the area was once known as Coalfield Station. The same history says the Chesterfield Railroad began running in 1831 on a 13-mile line that carried coal from the Midlothian-area mines to Manchester.
You can still see that history up close. Mid-Lothian Mines Park opened to visitors in 2004. It preserves remains of the first documented mining in Virginia's Richmond Coalfields, with historical exhibits and trails. Paired with a stop at the new center, a walk there shows two eras of the Midlothian Turnpike corridor on one Saturday morning.
The first new date on the calendar is Thursday, Nov. 19, with doors opening at 8 a.m.
Want to know how Midlothian Depot and the rest of the Route 60 corridor are changing nearby neighborhoods, or which streets in Brandermill, Woodlake and the Midlothian village area put you closest to the new grocery store? The Lemus Group follows these openings as they happen and can talk them through with you in English or Spanish.
