New store, who dis? The new Lidl grocery store coming to Columbia Heights has set an opening date: Wednesday, June 28. It will join another first: the Whole Foods coming to The Parks at Walter Reed, which opens the same day.

Lidl is opening at the DC USA shopping center. The grocery chain originated in Germany and has now expanded to a global network of grocery stores, including many in the D.C. suburbs. (It’s U.S. headquarters is in Arlington.) This will be the second Lidl grocery store to open in D.C. after the long-awaited opening in Ward 7 last year.

The store provides local produce, meat, imported cheeses, European pastries, and more. They’re known for low prices and their “bring your own bag” policy.

“We are excited to welcome our second Lidl to Ward 1,” said Mayor Muriel Bowser. “Our focus has been — and continues to be — on increasing access to fresh, healthy, and affordable groceries, and that is what Lidl is helping us do.”

That access is much more prevalent in Ward 1 and others east of the Anacostia River than wards 7 and 8, however. There are Target and Giant grocery stores within one block of this new 14th Street Lidl, for example, and of some 75 grocery stores across D.C. in 2021, Ward 6 had 15 of them and Ward 3 another 13, according to a report from food-access advocacy group D.C. Hunger Solutions.

A single 2.5-mile stretch of Wisconsin Avenue NW boasts a Safeway, a Trader Joe’s, a Giant, two Whole Foods, a new Wegmans, and even another planned Lidl. Wards 7 and 8 — which are majority Black and low-income — have just three grocery stores combined.

D.C. officials are using a $73 million Food Access Fund to bring more restaurants and grocery stores east of the river, and recently awarding grants to 13 local BIPOC-owned food businesses. While the program has led to some new eateries opening, others are struggling; Good Food Market, which aimed to sell healthier foods in a convenience store setting, switched to only selling prepared foods instead of groceries in November.

The new Lidl will open the same day as the Whole Foods at Walter Reed campus, a project that has been years in the making. The 47,000-square-foot Whole Foods blends with the architecture of the old army hospital and, like many of the chain’s local stores, feature some local items from across D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. The store will have specialty cheesemakers, a full-service seafood and butcher counter, a bakery, a prepared hot foods section, and more.

This second store is located at 3100 14th St. NW near Target, DSW, Petco, Old Navy, and a few restaurants. The store will open at 8 a.m. June 28, and host a ribbon cutting with local leaders like Deputy Mayor Keith Anderson. There will also be first day deals for customers.