I love Whole Foods! When can we get one?

Contact their HQ and see if they've done market surveys yet. Don't get your hopes up, though I was surprised to see one go up in South Bend Indiana recently, which is NOT the wealthy yuppie area people associate with Whole Foods.

move to Austin hipster.

(or go to Farm Patch)

I honestly don't know, as I've never been in one, but what's the attraction?

i thought we were getting a Sprouts?

Monk I suspect by the time this thread is over you will see why we won't be getting a Whole Foods...

It's organic, Man.

These stores, Whole Foods, Costco, Pappas, et al, need X of dollars per square ft generated each day so that they can maintain the quality and consistency.

I don't think our market is ready for the big time players. Also, who wants the big time players? That would mean that we would be almost like a suburb of Houston!

People here complain about paying for a cup of water. No chance for Whole Foods

TYPE IN ALL CAPS?

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People here complain about paying for a cup of water. No chance for Whole Foods

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Yep. Such stores always meet resistance from the "Its kinda expensive for this town..." crowd.

People charge for water?! Inconceivable!

Not enough people here. A certain level of affluence is typically needed in the population, I bet, too. Right now, HEB would blow them outta the water, particularly with their convenient location for the southies at Tower Point.

Does anyone have real information on why Sprouts apparently backed out?

ekonoag, Sprouts may not have backed out...just shifted locations. There is some uncertainty about that but last I heard they were still coming to BCS.
With TAMU continuing to grow (despite efforts to prevent it) and newer businesses and industries attracting/recruiting highly skilled, higher income professionals to the area, Whole Foods would find a ready market here. But old attitudes die hard.

I love HEB, but its nice to have variety.... loved the responses, thanks!

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move to Austin hipster.

(or go to Farm Patch)

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Bahahah!!!!!

Don't think I've ever seen a hipster at Farm Patch. Have seen many at the downtown Bryan farmers' market though, both shopping and working a few tables.

More Likely--------------------------> Less Likely
Aldi---> Sprouts---> Trader Joe's--> Whole Foods--> Central Market

Sprouts has removed everything related to the College Station store off their website. They have opened several new stores in the Houston area over the past two months.

I kinda sad about this. Living at the north end of CS, it would be nice to have a grocery store closer than Village foods that we could access without having to cross Texas Avenue to go to HEB or Kroger.

I wonder what made Sprouts back out? Demographics? Location? Fierce competition with HEB?

Rhoswen - Whole Foods is great if you care about ingredients in what you buy. The one in Austin has a cafeteria type set-up where you can eat, a good chocolate section (like a rocky mountain chocolate factory where you can get all sorts of in-house made treats), and fresh, homemade breads.

I've never eaten the cafeteria food but it looks really good and the one in downtown Austin is always busy.

I stop into Whole foods occaisonally when I'm in Austin for work. It is definitely not a one-stop-shop for me but definitely a neat place to pick up a few non-necessity items.

I believe the CEO voiced his opinion on healthcare reform a year or so ago and they were being boycotted by liberal types. My in-laws voiced that they don't shop there anymore and have moved the the HEB Central Market stores as far as I'm aware. Like others have said, I'm sure people would shop if they built it but I don't think there is a huge market here for it.

To clarify: I'm talking about the WF downtown Austin, I think they may have a 2nd location in Austin.



[This message has been edited by justalocal (edited 7/26/2013 12:21p).]

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Rhoswen - Whole Foods is great if you care about ingredients in what you buy.

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This doesn't answer my question at all. Does it sell only fresh food? Does it sell only non-processed food? Does it sell only organic food?

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This doesn't answer my question at all. Does it sell only fresh food? Does it sell only non-processed food? Does it sell only organic food?

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It sells smug food.

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Rhoswen - Whole Foods is great if you care about ingredients in what you buy.

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This doesn't answer my question at all. Does it sell only fresh food? Does it sell only non-processed food? Does it sell only organic food?

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It's like Trader Joe's and Central Market. They have produce, meats, dairy, frozen, processed foods, and unprocessed foods. A lot of items are organic and/or from small/specialty vendors, but not all. The nice thing about WF is their store brand. Like TJ's, they have their own brand of foods and household goods, and often the store brand items are A LOT cheaper compared to HEB. The time I visited a WF in Austin (the one not far from the airport), I picked up some household essentials (shampoo, conditioner, and body wash). Their store brand personal products are free from parabens and SLS, which is important to me. I bought giant-sized (32oz) containers of shampoo, conditioner and body wash for $5 each. That was almost a year ago, and the containers still aren't empty (and I don't skimp on how much I use every day). They also have the $3.99 wine that is decent. HEB can't beat those kinds of prices, especially on specialty items like the hair and body care products.

I'm in The Woodlands now...no WF, but there is a TJ's and I've observed the same thing - TJ's has much cheaper prices on their store brand wines, cheese, maple syrup, and even beef. I bought two filet mignon steaks there the other day that would have been several dollars more at HEB. The TJ's store brand prepared foods (frozen dinners, chips, etc) also do not contain MSG (also very important to me). I imagine the WF store brand is the same.

The point of my post is that the idea that these stores are too expensive for the average consumer are simply not true. They do have specialty items that cost more, but on many household staples, the cost is less than HEB. To me, the biggest disadvantage is limited selection. The Woodlands is about the same size, population wise, as College Station (just under 100k) and the Trader Joe's here is very small. I cannot do all of my shopping there. The Whole Foods I went to in Austin was much bigger.

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The point of my post is that the idea that these stores are too expensive for the average consumer are simply not true.

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TJs for sure. But I think WH is more expensive. Perhaps the Austin one is not as much as Central Market, but I think on average WH prices are higher then our local HEBs. I think we could certainly sustain a TJ's here and if not now, then in a few more years sustain a WH with no problem. I noticed on WH's web page they just opened in Lincoln Nebraska of all places...hardly a hoidy-toidy yuppie-hipster mecca!

[This message has been edited by FlyRod (edited 7/26/2013 1:45p).]

thanks, Transplant!

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The point of my post is that the idea that these stores are too expensive for the average consumer are simply not true.

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TJs for sure. But I think WH is more expensive. Perhaps the Austin one is not as much as Central Market, but I think on average WH prices are higher then our local HEBs. I think we could certainly sustain a TJ's here and if not now, then in a few more years sustain a WH with no problem. I noticed on WH's web page they just opened in Lincoln Nebraska of all places...hardly a hoidy-toidy yuppie-hipster mecca!

[This message has been edited by FlyRod (edited 7/26/2013 1:45p).]

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That very well may be true. My trip to WF was pretty quick, and I did not shop the entire store. The wine was a great deal, though, as were the personal care products. I can't comment on the cost of produce, meat, dairy, etc, at WF. But TJ's can definitely beat HEB and Central Market on prices for those types of items.

I just really appreciate a store where "all natural" products are the norm rather than the exception. I don't have to constantly check labels when I shop there, and I can purchase these items without feeling like I'm getting ripped off.

Now, I'm kind of picky about my groceries regardless of where I shop. I have not set foot in a Wal-Mart in years. I tend to buy more gourmet/specialty items even when I shop at HEB. Shoppers who are looking for maximum quantity at the lowest price probably will consider stores like Whole Foods and Trader Joe's to be "too expensive."

[This message has been edited by TXTransplant (edited 7/26/2013 2:09p).]

or we "just don't care about the ingredients in what we buy."

Whole Foods is opening in a certain bankrupt Michigan city, so a WF isn't that far off the mark.

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Whole Foods is opening in a certain bankrupt Michigan city, so a WF isn't that far off the mark.

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If you're referring to Detroit, I didn't see one in the "coming soon" section on the Whole Foods website.

Per capita, we will not have a Whole Foods or a Central Market. These specialized grocery stores carry extremely perishable foods that require a certian demographic to readily purchase these items at a steady level. According the 2012 cencus, there are 1.8M people in the Austin and surrounding area. How many are in B/CS and he "surrounding" area? Not even 250,000. There are 4 Whole Foods stores in Austin and the surrounding area. Do the math folks...it ain't going to happen.

I thought you asked what the attraction was, not what they sold. My mistake.

you thought I was being smug and answered accordingly. My bad, I wasn't trying to be.

Rho,
There are very good reasons the place is often called "Whole Paycheck."

The most important demographic WF will be looking at will not be the population count, but the "average income" datum.

They also need a demographic that considers it "too far" to drive to Village Foods--the average WF is meant to be a "collector," a magnet. This, as the store size tends to plant the stores in leveraged developments, which will not make money unless they can goose the rent by having WF for a neighbor.

The stores are large-footprint. The one six miles down the road on Forest has a meat market about the size of O'Bannon's. The bakery is about the same size, too. The produce section in this one is a bit small by WF standards, like about the size of the display gallery in Rudder.

Here's an interesting buying guide for WF:
http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-find-deals-at-whole-foods-2013-7