MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - The door of the new Whole Foods Market located on 2750 E. Grand River Ave. is up and running as of 9 a.m. Wednesday, April 13.

An official bread-breaking ceremony took place at 8:45 a.m., with speeches from store leader Sarah Tack, East Lansing Mayor Mark Meadows, Meridian Township Trustee Ron Styka and more.

The bread-breaking was used instead of ribbon-cutting to represent the fresh food aspect of the store, and it has been done for more than one Whole Foods store opening.

As soon as customers walked in, they were handed baskets or carts, allowing them to start shopping.

The store filled up quickly and customers were everywhere, finding what products they wanted.

Multiple free samples were available for customers to try, including bacon, fruit, chips, popcorn, cheese and dips.

The new store location includes over 150 organic produce offering, including Michigan-grown choices, over 140 back-to-basics bulk pantry staples, more than 7,000 natural and organic grocery staples, 15 varieties of bakery items, over a dozen sausages, 12 varieties of bread daily, more than 1,000 wines, hundreds of cheeses and more.

The unique features of the new location, that not all other stores in Michigan have, are the Kitchen Express, Gelato Station, Coffee Bar and the Green State Bar and Grill.

What people at the store seemed very excited about was the Bar and Grill.

It is a station that offers 16 beers on tap, some bottled beers and some wines.

At this part of the store, people can sit and be served as they hang out with friends.

Also an important staple of this store, there are 35 outdoor seating spaces and 75 indoor seats at the Cafe.

To celebrate Whole Foods becoming a part of the East Lansing and Meridian Township communities, the first 500 customers that walked through the doors - and waited in line outside - received a Whole Foods Market Promotional Card that could be valued between $5 and $500/

One customer would have the $500 card.

Including the day it opened, Wednesday, April 13, through Sunday, April 17, Whole Foods will have five "Days of Community Giving."

Those are days in which one percent of each day's net sales will go toward a local organization.

The organizations included, in order or days, are: Women Working Wonders, The Junior League of Lansing, Getaway Youth Services, Clean Water Action of Michigan and REACH Studio Art Center.

Whole Foods will also offer a 10-cent refund or donation to that month's charity for every bag the customer brings in and uses instead of getting a bag from the store.

This is part of Whole Foods' One Dime at a Time project.