Whole Foods to give away 100 turkeys in Charlotte on Monday

High-end organic grocer Whole Foods is giving away 100 free turkeys on Monday, as the company seeks to generate buzz ahead of its Charlotte opening next year.

The contest is a sort of guerilla-marketing strategy. Interested shoppers will have to follow the Facebook page for Whole Foods Charlotte location for instructions. They'll have to find a turkey mascot and tell him the answer to a question ("What makes a Whole Foods turkey different?") to get the bird.

The turkeys will come in insulated cooler bags, spokeswoman Darrah Horgan said, along with tips for how to cook them.

Whole Foods has long been one of the most anticipated additions to the Charlotte retail scene, especially after scrapping earlier plans to build a store in the Elizabeth area years ago. (Here's an earlier story, for those hungry for more details).

The grocer broke ground on the 42,000-square-foot store at Fairview and Sharon roads in April, and the store is expected to be open in the spring. The location is diagonally across from SouthPark mall, and in a location already offering high-end grocery options, including EarthFare and Harris Teeter's Morrocroft location.