Whole Foods on Tuesday opened a 140,000 square foot distribution center in the Pullman neighborhood of Chicago's South Side. 

The facility allows the natural and organic grocer to better serve its 26 Chicagoland locations, as well as an additional 34 locations across the Midwest and Eastern Canada. 

"“The Pullman neighborhood is an ideal location for our new distribution center. The proximity to major transportation and other business needs will help us to better serve our customers and support our stores in the Midwest and Ontario,” says Whole Foods Market Midwest Regional President, Michael Bashaw. “We are now closer to the majority of our stores, shortening delivery time, and, in the long term, we have plenty of additional space for expansion to support growth.”

The facility features environmental improvements and is approximately 20 percent more electrically efficient. The company says it will save more than 1.3 million kilowatts per yeat and more than $150,000 annually thanks to measures like natural refrigerants, occupancy light sensors, high-efficiency lighting and redistribution of refrigeration waste to heat floors.

The center's 100 employees — who moved form the company's previous facility in Munster, Indiana — will have access to a fresh salad bar, outdoor grilling space and patio, and an equipped exercise room.