Construction has officially started on a new Whole Foods Market at the former Eastside Marketplace site in Providence, with the property now fenced off and workers coming and going in recent weeks. The site at 165 Pitman St. has sat empty for roughly two years, but the fencing and foot traffic mark the clearest sign yet that the long-anticipated grocery store is finally moving forward.
The construction news, first reported by the Providence Journal, comes after Whole Foods signed a 20-year lease with property owner Riverview Retail LLC on Oct. 1, according to the Boston Globe. The grocery store building totals 33,800 square feet, the Globe reported, citing the signed lease agreement.
Riverview Retail also secured a $20 million loan on Oct. 21, according to a separate document reviewed by the Globe. That financing lines up with reporting from WPRI, which identified Union Savings Bank as underwriting the deal with a $20 million loan secured by the Pitman Street property. WPRI additionally reported that Whole Foods Market Group Inc. entered into the lease agreement with Riverview Retail on Oct. 1.
A Long-Vacant East Side Fixture
The Pitman Street property has stood empty since Stop & Shop closed its Eastside Marketplace there, though accounts of the exact closure date differ. The Globe reported the store shut down in November 2024, while WPRI reported that Eastside Marketplace closed down on Halloween the previous year. Either way, the closure left a prominent gap in the East Side's grocery landscape that has drawn attention from local outlets for nearly two years.
The Providence Business News reported that the Eastside Marketplace closure was part of a wider wave of 32 underperforming Stop & Shop stores shuttered across the Northeast, which also included a Johnston location. That same report placed the Providence store's address at 176 Pitman St., differing from the 165 Pitman St. address cited by the Globe and confirmed in the Providence Journal's construction report.
What the New Lease Reportedly Restricts
Beyond the grocery store itself, the lease terms reportedly shape what else can open at the plaza. Per the Globe's reporting, the agreement prohibits the property owner from renting other spaces to certain grab-and-go food establishments, specifically naming Sweetgreen, b.good, and Chopt as examples of banned tenants. The lease does allow one ice cream store and one dine-in restaurant with a liquor license elsewhere on the plaza, according to the same report.
Once open, the Pitman Street store will give Whole Foods a third Providence location, joining its existing store at 261 Waterman Street less than half a mile away, according to WPRI. That Waterman Street location has operated since 1990, the Globe reported. A separate report from RI News Today noted that Whole Foods, which is owned by Amazon.com, already had two stores on the East Side alone even before the Pitman Street deal was finalized.
Filling a Gap Grocery Shoppers Have Noticed
The prospect of a new grocery tenant at the Eastside Marketplace site has been a subject of local speculation since the Stop & Shop closure first left the space empty. A 2024 Providence Journal column noted that the closure created an opening for another grocery store in the neighborhood, pointing out that Dave's Fresh Marketplace operates 10 stores but none currently in the capital city.
For now, the opening date for the new Whole Foods remains unannounced. WPRI reported that it is not clear when Whole Foods will begin operations at the Pitman Street location. With fencing up and crews actively working the site, East Side residents at least have visible evidence that the long wait is moving toward an end, even without a firm timeline in hand.
