Crazy. They announced a Whole Foods at 20th and L today in the Bee. We were discussing it last night and Smiller was saying it was going on the R street corridor, which I either didn't know or had forgotten. I wonder if that deal fell through?
I have mixed emotions, of course, since Whole Foods is a lame chain, but def leaning towards positive. A big Sacramento bucket list item for me has been a market I can walk to. It will hurt the Sac co-op but I don't want to say I hate that co-op but I haven't been there in over a year. Possibly leaning towards two years. I shop at the Davis one and I will shop there less, but it's very successful and it won't hurt that business. In contrast, when Trader Joe's first opened in Davis it cut business by 10%, but the co-op had smartly made a contingency plan for just such a drop.
Judging by the spokesman's comments in the Bee today, the Sac co-op is of course bummed, but they've made some dumbass decisions financially and that's their fault. They are probably still recovering financially from that Elk Grove store that closed. I'm not sure the reason for the SNC move, but it seems stupid. I guess if the store is bigger they could make more.
I will probably shop at Taylor's a bit less, but that family practically mints money with that place, and any time I want a bottle of wine for dinner I will hit up Taylor's. The Whole Food's selection is not to my taste at all.
Jerry Day is this Sunday! There is a lot of other stuff going on this weekend so I haven't been thinking about that but it's pretty monumental! Can't wait! Scott brought me a new Bertha tanker from Deadnet for my birthday.
I can't remember where I read it, but the ironic part about Whole Foods maybe eating the Co-op's lunch is that John Mackey started out in the housing co-ops in Austin and also worked for Wheatsville (which is still around). The only time I ever shop at one around here is the one in Davis, because they'll take 10% off your bill if you show them your UCD employee ID. And even then it's still way too expensive.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to throw the Sac Co-op some support here. I really hope that the new Whole Foods doesn't sabotage the Co-op's success. The Co-op does so many things so much better than a lot of the other grocery stores, especially produce -- a category where Whole Foods is especially deficient. Another thing the Co-op does is employ a lot of my friends.
ReplyDeleteThe Co-op spokesperson said that they lost and regained customers to the Arden Whole Foods, and I could see that happening here too. Whole Foods is really no replacement. If you care about beautiful, organic produce -- or supporting local farmers -- then the Co-op is still your only choice.
But being able to walk to a grocery store from your house will be awesome for you and your neighbors.
-MH
The only good thing about having fucking Whole Foods two blocks from my house is that perhaps it will persuade law enforcement and city leaders to tweak the dumb "singles" beer law.
ReplyDeleteNM
Yeah I thought about that too, NM! Between WF and BevMo, there's a lot of lobbying power against that law.
ReplyDeleteMy hope is that there is room for both stores, allowing for people to be both excited for the new Whole Foods and supportive of the Co-op.
-MH
I can't believe that people shop at Whole Foods at all- the owner's anti-union, pro-corporatization schtick seems strongly at odds with beliefs of the people who tend to shop at 'natural' grocery stores.
ReplyDeleteI rarely went to Whole Foods anyway, but after the owner called Obamacare the introduction of fascism in America I've actively avoided the place.
-OMF
I know I come off too anti SNFC. I support it in principle, but not with my dollars. But I greatly prefer to shop at a co-op or locally owned grocery. Because of a conflict between wanting to support local and wanting convenience I shop at Safeway more than I would like, and I do want a place I can walk to to get good produce at any time (not just the Saturday farmer's market), so the whole foods will be a good option for me. I just don't have time for marketing a few times a week to get produce, and mine goes bad and I don't cook as much fresh stuff as I would like. Not saying you guys all have time for constant grocery shopping.
ReplyDeleteOn a pleasant note, we are getting a shit ton of cherry tomatoes from our garden! yay!
I couldn't believe it when my fancy German lotion was $17 at Whole Foods and $14 at the coop. I thought that chains were supposed to be cheaper.
ReplyDeletegbomb
I'll complain about it chaininess and the expensiveness of Whole Food like everyone else, but also like everyone else, when it opens, I will not be able to resist walking there for some grab'n'go lunch, and that one particular Alaffia hair conditioner that really works well for me but which the Co-Op doesn't carry. I'll also sneak a double or triple toothpick stab of whatever cheese they're sampling, and maybe occasionally, I will buy one of those. But I'll never buy a whole bag of anything there.
ReplyDeleteI woulda preferred a Nugget move closer to the core area. Maybe someday we can have our wish over in the 95820-east, where we make do with a 1/3-size Bel Air (supposedly its original location) and dumb-Raley's (a/k/a Food Source) and FoodsCo, the absolute worst supermarket ever (more like a diabetes factory).
I do the bulk of my grocery shopping at our nearby Rite Aid, so this doesn't really change much for me.
ReplyDelete