Whole Foods Encino: What's Coming to 16325 Ventura Boulevard

"I love this store, I would never switch, I've been coming here for years. But I might check out a new market across the street to see if they have any great deals."

A Gelson's shopper said that to 818 News Diary in June. At the time, the "new market across the street" was an empty storefront and a state alcohol license application. Three months later, it has a name on the facade. Whole Foods Market put up its signs at 16325 Ventura Boulevard, the former Amazon Fresh at Encino Marketplace, in the stretch between Hayvenhurst and Libbit avenues.

Most coverage treats this as one more store opening. The bigger change is where it sits. Gelson's Encino is at 16450 Ventura Boulevard, and the proposed Whole Foods is one block away from it. Once the doors open, Encino will have two full-service premium grocers within walking distance of each other on the same side of the neighborhood. A weekly grocery run here has never been set up quite like that.

What Is Confirmed as of Late September 2026

Here is everything the public record supports right now, and no more.

1. The permit trail started in spring. What Now Los Angeles reported on June 12 that ABC permitting from the previous month pointed to a Whole Foods at 16325 Ventura Blvd., inside Encino Marketplace. At that point it described the project as early stage.
2. The liquor license is moving over from the last tenant. Devin Blankenship of the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control told 818 News Diary that Whole Foods had filed to sell alcohol at the site. The state gives 90 to 120 days to transfer the license from the previous occupant, Amazon Fresh.
3. The center lists it. Encino Marketplace's own website shows "Whole Foods Market – Coming Soon."
4. The signs are up. 818 News Diary photographed the new signage and reported it on September 23.
5. There is no opening date. As of that September 23 report, nobody had announced a grand opening, and Whole Foods had not returned calls.

So anyone telling you a specific opening weekend is guessing. "Coming soon, date to be announced" is the most anyone can say this fall.

Why This Storefront Keeps Changing Hands

The 16325 address has turned over more than most Ventura Boulevard storefronts. Before Amazon Fresh, it was a Ralphs. The Daily News covered the Amazon Fresh opening at that address in July 2022. That store didn't last four years. On January 27, 2026, Amazon announced it would close its Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go physical stores and turn "various" locations into Whole Foods. The Daily News named Encino among the affected stores the same day.

That announcement never promised Encino a Whole Foods. The Encino conversion only became visible later, through the ABC filing, the center's tenant list and the signs. According to What Now, Amazon has also said it plans to invest in more than 100 new Whole Foods locations over the next few years. The Encino site is one piece of that shift from Amazon's own grocery brand to the one it bought in 2017.

The brand has older roots nearby. Whole Foods traces part of its Southern California history to Mrs. Gooch's Natural Foods Market, which Sandy Gooch and Dan Volland opened in West Los Angeles in January 1977. Whole Foods acquired the chain in 1993. The Los Angeles Times reported the deal at $56 million in stock, covering seven L.A.-area stores. In 1991, the Mrs. Gooch's in Sherman Oaks was at 12905 Riverside Drive. Today that address is the Whole Foods Sherman Oaks East.

Where Encino Shops for Groceries Today

The new store will join an Encino grocery map that already has distinct anchors. Until Whole Foods opens, this is the lineup within and just outside the neighborhood:

• Gelson's Encino, 16450 Ventura Blvd., one block from the incoming Whole Foods
• Ralphs, 17840 Ventura Blvd., farther west. This is a separate store from the former Ralphs at 16325.
• Trader Joe's Encino, 17640 Burbank Blvd., the one major grocer here that isn't on Ventura
• Sabzee Mediterranean Market, 17461 Ventura Blvd., with produce, meat, bakery, deli and prepared foods

Encino shoppers who want Whole Foods right now have to drive to another neighborhood. The closest stores are the Sherman Oaks location at 14311 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks West at 4520 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Sherman Oaks East at 12905 Riverside Dr., and Woodland Hills at 21347 Ventura Blvd. Encino's main stretch of Ventura sits between those two groups. Once 16325 opens, that drive in either direction becomes a stop on the neighborhood's own main street.

Two Grocers, One Block

The 818 News Diary piece called the situation a possible "supermarket slugfest," but its reporting on the ground was gentler than the headline. A Gelson's meat counter employee named Ray said, "Our customers are very loyal." An accountant, Ken Lodgen, said, "It would be great to have competition here." The same reporter remembered a Ventura lemon grower who said Gelson's produce buyer "only wants the best lemons."

Nobody has published what the competition will do to prices, product selection or services, and the 818 News Diary piece leaves those as open questions. The physical change is easier to describe. A shopper could park once and reach both stores on foot. That makes this block the obvious first stop for a lot of errands.

The Rest of the Marketplace Comes Along

A grocery anchor changes the whole center around it, and Encino Marketplace already has plenty of reasons to stop. What Now lists See's Candies, solidcore, Starbucks, CVS Pharmacy, Bacio di Latte, Sweet Lady Jane and sweetgreen in the 95,000-square-foot center.

Two of those have their own back stories:

• Sweet Lady Jane is back. All six of the bakery's shops, including Encino, closed after December 31, 2023. In March 2024, the Los Angeles Times reported that new owners had bought the brand and recipes on February 16 and renegotiated the leases on all six locations, Encino among them. The bakery's own locations page now lists Encino at 16403 Ventura Blvd., Suite C, with café service.
• sweetgreen is next door at 16403 Ventura Blvd., Suite D, with online ordering. The center's page shows Bacio di Latte as "Now Open."

When the grocery space was empty, the Marketplace had a bakery, a gelato shop, a salad counter and a candy shop around a big dark storefront. With a grocer back in that space, the center can cover a whole errand list in one stop: pharmacy, coffee, a workout at solidcore, a birthday cake, and the week's groceries, all in one parking lot and one block from Gelson's.

What to Watch for This Fall

The things that would signal an opening are easy to spot. They include an announced grand-opening date from Whole Foods, the liquor license transfer finishing on the timeline ABC described, and a change on the Encino Marketplace site from "Coming Soon" to "Now Open," the label Bacio di Latte already carries. As of September 23, none of those had happened. Whole Foods had not yet said when shoppers can walk in.

New anchor tenants on Ventura Boulevard change how a neighborhood works day to day, and buyers often ask about errands, walkability and what's around the corner. If you own near Encino Marketplace and want to know where your home stands as this stretch changes, Lori Morrissey can give you a clear, local read on its value. Get a Free Home Valuation.