If you live in or around Uptown Charlotte, your trips to the grocery store just got a bit easier with the grand opening of Center City’s first full-sized grocery store.

At 9am this morning, Whole Foods Uptown will be opening its doors to the public for the first time.

According to Whole Food’s official press release, the new store will feature a full selection of organic produce, frozen foods, and canned and boxed goods, as well as a;

• Coffee bar
• Wine and beer bar
• Genji sushi station with MAS! bowls (a blend of Korean and Latin flavors)
• Burrito and sandwich stations
• Pizza bar
• Our signature hot and cold bars
• Full catering menu

Whole Foods notes their new store is, “located right off the LYNX light rail, Whole Foods Market Uptown will be housed in the new Novel Stonewall Station development, directly across from the Charlotte Convention Center and NASCAR Hall of Fame. The store will also sit conveniently next to the intersection of the South End and Dilworth neighborhoods.”

Just before the official opening, a line of Whole Foods fans and hungry Uptown residents could be seen stretching around the block;

Today is the grand opening of Whole Foods in uptown! 400 E. Stonewall St. 📸: @hopfrogie #goodeats #organic #grassfedbeef #grassfedmeats #grassfed #eatbetter #health #healthylifestyle #healthyfood

A post shared by Charlotte Social Status (@charlottesocialstatus) on Jun 13, 2018 at 6:39am PDT

Are you excited about Charlotte’s newest Whole Foods?

This summer, CMS is planning on giving thousands of parents a bit of relief by providing free healthy meals to our Charlotte kids.

Over 50 school campuses around our city will start giving out the meals starting this week.

The new “Lunch Express” program is primarily targeted at assisting children in low-income areas during the summer when they’re out of school.

The new program is being primarily funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and managed by the NC Department of Public Instruction. All funds spent on the lunches by CMS will be reimbursed.

Here is the complete summer meals program schedule for CMS;

You can find out more about the program here on CMS’s website.

The City of Charlotte just officially approved their largest budget in history.

Last night, the Charlotte City Council voted in a $2.6 billion FY 2019 operating budget – an 8.8% increase of last year’s $2.39 billion budget.

According to the new budget, Charlotte residents can now expect to see the following City tax and fee impact for homes at the $100,000 value;

The new budget includes pay raises for Charlotte’s police officers and firefighters, as wells as 6 additional police stations and a new fire station. It will also double our funding for streets, sidewalks, and the safety of pedestrians, as well as increase funding for affordable housing.

“I think this budget reflects the fact that we are trying to give people more access to opportunity,” commented Mayor Pro Tem Julie Eiselt at last night’s meeting.

The overall 2019 budget includes a new general fund budget of $693.8 million, a 3.7% increase over 2018’s general fund budget, which will be spent on the following;

You can view the entire FY 2019 budget here.

What do you think of Charlotte’s 2019 budget?