Whole Foods is moving in on Preston Corners, with the grocer planning a new store at the busy intersection of Northwest Cary Parkway and High House Road. The spot will fill a long-standing grocery-sized vacancy and give Cary a third Whole Foods location, a shift that is poised to stir up competition among the town’s higher end supermarkets while underscoring Amazon’s renewed focus on the Whole Foods brand.
A Whole Foods spokesperson confirmed the planned store to Axios, saying it will be located in the Preston Corners shopping center at Northwest Cary Parkway and High House Road. The company did not share a projected opening date when contacted, according to Axios.
The future Whole Foods will occupy the former Lowes Foods space at Preston Corners, a large anchor site that has been empty since Lowes exited in 2025, as reported by Progressive Grocer. Lowes Foods closed its 930 High House Road store in mid May 2025, creating the vacancy that Whole Foods now plans to fill.
Amazon's grocery pivot
Whole Foods’ expansion in Cary fits into a broader reset at parent company Amazon. The tech giant has been reshaping its grocery portfolio and said it would close almost all Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go locations in order to concentrate on Whole Foods Market and grocery delivery, AP News reported. Amazon also indicated that some former Amazon Fresh sites could be converted into Whole Foods stores and announced plans to add more than 100 additional Whole Foods locations over the coming years.
What this means for Cary shoppers
Once the Preston Corners store opens, Cary will boast more Whole Foods locations than neighboring Raleigh, a quirky bit of local grocery math noted by Axios. Preston Corners is described as a long established neighborhood shopping hub anchored by grocers and small chains, according to the Preston Development Company project page. That setup makes the new Whole Foods especially convenient for residents in the Prestonwood area and nearby subdivisions that already treat the center as their default shopping stop.
Timeline and next steps
Whole Foods has not released a firm opening date, and the space will need months of tenant build out, permitting and interior work before shoppers can roll in their carts. Locals can watch for building permits, contractor signs and visible storefront changes as key clues that the new grocer is getting closer to opening its doors.
