Classen Curve

[Spartan]

^ Yeah, "the rumor."

[jdcf]

In light of the WF rumors, how does the Crescent Market fit in?

[metro]

I'm guessing they fit in the Capitalist society we live in (although rapidly changing) and they will compete with WF in the event they move in nearby.

[OKCTalker]

Whole Foods would put Crescent Market out of its misery. It has suffered a needless and pitiful decline under it current owner.

[brownb01]

Where would the rumored Whole Foods go according to this plan? Doesn't seem like there is room.

You might want to check it out again. They are making room....and LOTS of it. Amazing what a track Hoe can do.

[stlokc]

Whole Foods and Crescent Market are completely different animals. St. Louis, where I live, has Whole Foods and also supports at least a dozen Crescent Market-type stores.

Whole Foods is a destination grocery where people travel to get a large selection of a wide variety of hard to find items. Crescent Market is a convenient, somewhat upscale neighborhood place for those in Nichols Hills. Someone in Edmond or Quail Creek is not going to drive to Crescent Market to buy Cheerios. They may very well drive to a Whole Foods to buy organic foods, prepared foods, specialty meats, cheeses, etc.

It's two different audiences.

[CCOKC]

When my daughter was younger and at Ballet Oklahoma I would do my grocery shopping while she was in class. There were so many specialty stores on Western that I would hit 2-3 different stores to get different things. Kamp's for meat and cold cuts, Big Sky for bread and Cresent for vegetarian tamales and other regular grocery stuff. I imagine that a Whole Foods would proove to be synergistic in the same way. Kind of like how Walgreens and CVS tend to be across the street from each other.

[kevinpate]

I think I said this before, but people should just have fun with this. Ala "Pearl's Graveside". There's a great restaurant in Atlanta across from the graveyard that is called "Six Feet Under". It's absolutely packed everytime we go there.

Crypt
Undertakers
Tombstone
Dante's
Wake
Ash
Dust
Solace

along with many other possibilities

[jeni]

Where would the rumored Whole Foods go according to this plan? Doesn't seem like there is room.

we are not getting a whole foods. i have a good friend who is the director of marketing for WF and there is more talk of closing WF stores than opening new ones at this point. disappointing.

[jeni]

Where would the rumored Whole Foods go according to this plan? Doesn't seem like there is room.

my previous post didn't go through? maybe i'm doing something wrong..i'll try again

i have a good friend who is the director of marketing for whole foods. we are NOT getting a whole foods. whole foods is considering closing stores and not opening new ones at this point (due to the economy). disappointing.

[jbrown84]

They should have taken a little more time and tried to buy a block or row of houses along the north side of the neighborhood that borders CC. This would have also helped with increasing the depth of the buildings, which would in turn help with attracting popular national tenants.

Yeah if they could acquire that north block that they are currently wrapped around, they could add a large middle building with some structured parking beneath it or above it. That would allow for much larger stores and would connect the two ends better for pedestrians.

[betts]

Maybe they will eventually. I noticed there's a Midwest Wrecking machine at the building adjacent to the recently demolished funeral home. That will be a fair amount of land, and Aubrey owns the whole block anyway.

[Spartan]

Whole Foods and Crescent Market are completely different animals. St. Louis, where I live, has Whole Foods and also supports at least a dozen Crescent Market-type stores.

Whole Foods is a destination grocery where people travel to get a large selection of a wide variety of hard to find items. Crescent Market is a convenient, somewhat upscale neighborhood place for those in Nichols Hills. Someone in Edmond or Quail Creek is not going to drive to Crescent Market to buy Cheerios. They may very well drive to a Whole Foods to buy organic foods, prepared foods, specialty meats, cheeses, etc.

It's two different audiences.

So you're saying that all Crescent Market sells is Cheerios?

[metro]

we are not getting a whole foods. i have a good friend who is the director of marketing for WF and there is more talk of closing WF stores than opening new ones at this point. disappointing.

I'm not buying this as a reason that they're not opening here. There has been sufficient evidence that there is good odds they are building here. Even the Tulsa store manager has confirmed "we're on the list." Chesapeake has enough capital to lure a WF here if need be. I'd more more anxious to here what their real estate team has to say than the Dir. of Marketing.

[OKCTalker]

I'm not buying this as a reason that they're not opening here. There has been sufficient evidence that there is good odds they are building here. Even the Tulsa store manager has confirmed "we're on the list." Chesapeake has enough capital to lure a WF here if need be. I'd more more anxious to here what their real estate team has to say than the Dir. of Marketing.

Until and unless there's a press release, we're all quoting the same second cousin's uncle's best friend who knew a guy who sat next to a stock boy from Whole Foods who think he overheard some talk in the executive wash room that...

[metro]

nope, insiders that know high ups as Chesapeake is what I'm holding onto.

[Pete]

whole foods is considering closing stores and not opening new ones at this point (due to the economy). disappointing.

Right now, Whole Foods is in the process of opening THIRTY new locations -- all over the U.S. -- and I haven't heard of any closing:

Stores in Development | WholeFoodsMarket.com

[Pete]

Republic is only about two weeks from opening... Here are some photos from their Facebook page:

[Urbanized]

Right now, Whole Foods is in the process of opening THIRTY new locations -- all over the U.S. -- and I haven't heard of any closing:

Stores in Development | WholeFoodsMarket.com

Now now, let's not let facts get in the way of a good third-person wet blanketing...

[Shake2005]

But, Whole Foods is only opening 16 of those stores this year (they opened 15 in 2009) so that list should take them all the way through 2011 with Oklahoma City still not even on the list.

Whole Foods boosts outlook - MarketWatch

If an Oklahoma City store was the very next one announced, it likely wouldn’t open until 2012, at the earliest.

That said, the same article also talks about how well Whole Foods is doing now and nothing at all about closing stores.

[Pete]

An OKC location wouldn't necessarily be behind all the others already announced.

Often the timing has more to do with the developers/development than it does with the retailer. If CHK has their act together and wants to get them in sooner, that could easily happen in about a year.

[rcjunkie]

The best, 100% way to find out if Whole Foods is entering the OKC Market is to wait for the "Grand Opening Sign".

[onthestrip]

I tend to think this rumor will eventually come true. Why? Well I think Aubrey wants one so bad that he will probably throw enough money at it that Whole Foods couldnt turn it down. With that said, Im going to sit back and wait to hear an official announcement and not try to speculate when/where/how it will happen.

Also, I wouldnt put much stock into what a manager says from a Whole Foods in another city. They arent exactly in the meetings with the real estate team.

[metro]

An OKC location wouldn't necessarily be behind all the others already announced.

Often the timing has more to do with the developers/development than it does with the retailer. If CHK has their act together and wants to get them in sooner, that could easily happen in about a year.

Exactly

I tend to think this rumor will eventually come true. Why? Well I think Aubrey wants one so bad that he will probably throw enough money at it that Whole Foods couldnt turn it down. With that said, Im going to sit back and wait to hear an official announcement and not try to speculate when/where/how it will happen.

Also, I wouldnt put much stock into what a manager says from a Whole Foods in another city. They arent exactly in the meetings with the real estate team.

Agreed, I think this is the biggest factor into us getting one. If CHK broke ground on a building soon, we'd see one a heck of a lot earlier than 2012.

[Pete]

Republic has their new website up:

REPUBLIC

Pretty impressive beer list:
http://www.republicgastropub.com/Rep...eer%20Menu.pdf