A new grocery store that befuddled Irving residents as it sat unopened since late last year is finally coming to life.

Austin-based Whole Foods' 14th store in Dallas-Fort Worth will open Sept. 28, the company said.

The store, which is at 6714 N. MacArthur Blvd., has been a long time coming. It was first announced in 2014. It was built last year, and earlier this year the company said the store was slated for a 2017 opening.

Whole Foods has been busy. The company created and opened a new concept store, 365 Whole Foods. Then it was cooking up a merger with Amazon.com that closed last month. All that and more while it's been struggling to reverse eight consecutive quarterly declines in same-store sales. The Las Colinas store just got caught up in the shuffle. Other stores have been delayed.

But this 44,000-square-foot store is opening this month with an in-store bar that has 16 beers on tap and a menu of bar food favorites. New York-style pizzas will be sold whole or by the slice. The store will stock more than 100 specialty cheeses and more than 750 wines. A self-serve dessert bar will include macaroons and Japanese mochi ice cream. It has an outdoor patio area and will have regular events including happy hours and Thursday night pizza deals.

Store manager Stuart Lane has been hiring and training staff. "We can't wait to open our doors," he said.

Area residents can get a sneak peek at a soft opening event Sept. 26 from 4 to 7 p.m. Ten percent of sales from that event will benefit a local nonprofit group, Irving Cares.

Twitter: @MariaHalkias

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