Whole Foods Market is in talks to buy or take over leases for half a dozen Johnnie’s Foodmaster locations in eastern Massachusetts, possibly bringing an end to one of the last urban family grocery chains, according to several real estate officials briefed on the deal.
Negotiations are still in the early stages, but Whole Foods wants to move into six of the 10 Johnnie’s Foodmaster sites in Arlington, Brookline, Charlestown, Melrose, South Weymouth, and on Beacon Street in Somerville.
If the deal goes through, Whole Foods will increase its presence in Massachusetts by nearly 30 percent at a time when rivals like Market Basket and Wegmans Food Markets are stepping up expansion efforts. Whole Foods, which in the past two decades has taken over other small local grocery chains — including Wild Oats and Bread & Circus — currently operates 21 stores in the state and has another two planned for Boston’sSouth End and Lynnfield.
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