Update, 9/24/20:

The renovation and remodeling of the Glover Park Whole Foods is expected to begin in November, per a listing on the general contractor L.F. Jennings’ website. The Washington Business Journal was the first to report the news. The company is accepting subcontractor bids until October 12.

A Whole Foods spokesperson confirmed that preparations for the renovation had begun, according to WBJ, but was not able to share a reopening timeline.

Original:

Yes, you heard right: after an arduous legal battle that has kept the Wisconsin Avenue grocery store closed down for three years, Glover Park’s Whole Foods is set to remodel and reopen.

On February 10, Whole Foods and Wical Limited Partnership, the owner of the building where the grocery store is housed, reached a settlement that resolves a fight the two parties have been embroiled in since 2017. The exact terms of the settlement are unclear, but the end result is that Whole Foods will complete a remodel of the inside of the store—as the company has wished to do for years—and open its doors again. Popville was the first to flag the settlement.

“We are thrilled to announce that Whole Foods Market will be returning to Glover Park. We will be completing a remodel of the store before reopening our doors, so stay tuned for more details on timing,” a Whole Foods spokesperson tells DCist in an email statement. “We look forward to returning to serving the community we’ve been part of for more than 20 years.”

Since the Whole Foods’ closure, residents have been lamenting its loss and clamoring for its return. Some have said the closure is affecting other businesses nearby, and the quality of the neighborhood itself. There are other grocery stores nearby, including a Safeway, a Giant, and a Trader Joe’s.

The Whole Foods spokesperson declined to elaborate on the terms of the settlement or provide more information about a timeline for opening. A lawyer for Wical did not respond to a request for comment from DCist.

In case you need a refresher on the—truly amazing—legal drama that has kept the store shut down, it all began with a persistent rat infestation in 2017. After the store was shut down twice in two months by the D.C. Department of Health for the rodent issue, Whole Foods shut down the store for an extensive remodel meant to get rid of the problem. That upset Wical, which accused Whole Foods of violating the terms of its lease, which stipulated that the store couldn’t shut down for more than 60 days.

But Whole Foods argued that it was exempt from that stipulation because of another clause in the lease, called the force majeure clause, which allows a party to break a contract when there are extenuating circumstances beyond their control, including “acts of god, strikes, lockouts, labor troubles, plan approval delay,” and other circumstances, per a court filing. Whole Foods argued that the rodent infestation was an “act of God” beyond their control; Wical held that the company didn’t appropriately maintain the inside of the store.

A judge was set to decide on the “act of God” question on May 26 of this year. But instead the parties reached a settlement allowing for at least some of the renovation Whole Foods wanted to do in the first place.

We may never know the extent of God’s role in the rodent issue, but at least the citizens of Glover Park will have their Whole Foods back.

Previously:
D.C. Judge Must Decide If The Glover Park Whole Foods’ Rodent Infestation Is An ‘Act Of God’
Glover Park Residents Really Want Their Whole Foods Back