Whole Foods opening in Pierce County, Wash.

Whole Foods Market will open its doors in University Place, Wash., on Thursday. This is the first Whole Foods Market store in Pierce County, and the eighth location in Washington state.

To celebrate the grand opening, Whole Foods Market will host a "bread-breaking ceremony" at 8:30 a.m. University Place Mayor Denise McCluskey and Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber Member Tom Pearson will join Whole Foods Market regional leadership, local suppliers and community partners to break a 4-foot-long loaf of challah bread, and welcome shoppers into the neighborhood's new shopping destination. Doors open and shopping begins at 9 a.m. The new store is located at 3515 Bridgeport Way W. in the Village at Chambers Bay.

The first 75 visitors to the store on Thursday will receive a Whole Foods Market gift card with a mystery value between $10 and $100. Gift cards will be distributed starting at 6:30 a.m. Grand opening festivities will also include free coffee and live music from the Curtis High School Pep Band.

In fiscal year 2014, the company had sales of more than $14 billion and currently has more than 417 stores in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.