Whole Foods

[soonerguru]

Not quite twice as big but yes bigger. Every time I go to the Tulsa store, it's dead. I know plenty of people from OKC that shop there too, once OKC's store opens, no more need to drive to Tulsa WF. I'd see OKC getting a 2nd location before Tulsa due to our population and the pent up demand. Tulsa has better alternatives already.

Thanks for the clarification on size. I would have to disagree with you about how busy that Tulsa store is. I go there at least once a month (sometimes more frequently) and it is always teeming with people. Not sure what time of day you've been there. It's even crazier on weekends.

You may be right about OKC supporting a second location before Tulsa -- and that stands to reason, as we have Norman and Edmond as suburbs, which trump Jenks and Owasso, IMO.

I do agree that Tulsa already has better grocery alternatives than OKC, although the new Crest on the south side is very nice, Forward Foods serves an important niche, and Crescent Market is fairly decent.

[metro]

Been to the Tulsa store many of times, usually during early evening or weekends. I would almost guarantee the OKC store will be MUCH busier from day one.

[soonerguru]

Been to the Tulsa store many of times, usually during early evening or weekends. I would almost guarantee the OKC store will be MUCH busier from day one.

I agree with you on that! The OKC store is going to be completely insane and will probably do twice the volume the Tulsa store does.

[redrunner]

Yes most of us have been to a Central Market not impressed, but of course it's light years better than anything we currently have. Have you been to a Whole Foods flagship store? HEB? Trader Joes?

You do realize Central Market > HEB don't you?

[bluedogok]

Yes, Central Market is owned by HEB but they are managed separately, in fact the HEB buyers are in San Antonio and the Central Market buyers are in Dallas. I found that out a few weeks ago when a friend developed a product for HEB but had to "sell it" to CM.

I prefer CM over WF but the stores can vary greatly.

[ljbab728]

It's the only place I know of that you can buy Jamon Iberica and Jamon Bellota; dry cured hams from Spain. Iberica is around $52 a pound, Belotta pushes $100 a pound. This is not ham that you make sandwiches with.

That's crazy. Even if I was a multi-millionaire, there isn't any ham in the world worth that unless you're just trying to impress someone.

[BG918]

I noticed the WF in Tulsa is expanding to the west. I'm not sure how many more square feet it will add. It's next to the cafe/prepared foods area so it could be an expansion of that.

I think the 3rd WF location in Oklahoma will be in Norman. Not sure where in Norman but I could see it going there as the one in OKC is pretty centrally-located for most of the city as well as Edmond (for now), and Norman would serve far south OKC/Moore in addition to the 110,000 people in Norman itself.

[flintysooner]

Norman would serve far south OKC/Moore

I really think that is not true.

[soonerguru]

I think the 3rd WF location in Oklahoma will be in Norman. Not sure where in Norman but I could see it going there as the one in OKC is pretty centrally-located for most of the city as well as Edmond (for now), and Norman would serve far south OKC/Moore in addition to the 110,000 people in Norman itself.

I agree with this. At one time, I actually wondered if Norman would get a store before OKC, as its demographics and psychographics are totally on target for Whole Foods.

[Swake2]

I noticed the WF in Tulsa is expanding to the west. I'm not sure how many more square feet it will add. It's next to the cafe/prepared foods area so it could be an expansion of that.

I think the 3rd WF location in Oklahoma will be in Norman. Not sure where in Norman but I could see it going there as the one in OKC is pretty centrally-located for most of the city as well as Edmond (for now), and Norman would serve far south OKC/Moore in addition to the 110,000 people in Norman itself.

Yes, in spite of metro's continued observations that everything in Tulsa is dead and about out of business the Tulsa Whole Foods is expanding for the second time. Now they are taking over the gift shop and pharmacy that were next door. The store will go all the way over to the liquor store. They look to be adding 50-60% more space, I would guess the store will be 45-50,000 square feet when they are done.

Also, according to the Tulsa Whole Foods facebook page the company will again be looking at a south Tulsa store once the OKC store is open.

[soonerguru]

I can't believe I failed to properly contextualize the Crest Fresh Market in SW OKC. It's truly the best grocery retailer in OKC. Went there again today. Wow!

[Easy180]

Yes, in spite of metro's continued observations that everything in Tulsa is dead and about out of business the Tulsa Whole Foods is expanding for the second time. Now they are taking over the gift shop and pharmacy that were next door. The store will go all the way over to the liquor store. They look to be adding 50-60% more space, I would guess the store will be 45-50,000 square feet when they are done.

Also, according to the Tulsa Whole Foods facebook page the company will again be looking at a south Tulsa store once the OKC store is open.

I also hear that OKC's aquarium and Dave & Busters outdraw their Tulsa area counterparts as well

[BG918]

Having the liquor/wine store adjacent to the WF in Tulsa is really convenient. Will there be any other retail space next to the one in OKC? A similar setup would be nice since our laws don't allow for them to be in the same place.

[metro]

Yes, in spite of metro's continued observations that everything in Tulsa is dead and about out of business the Tulsa Whole Foods is expanding for the second time. Now they are taking over the gift shop and pharmacy that were next door. The store will go all the way over to the liquor store. They look to be adding 50-60% more space, I would guess the store will be 45-50,000 square feet when they are done.

Also, according to the Tulsa Whole Foods facebook page the company will again be looking at a south Tulsa store once the OKC store is open.

Another diatribe from our Tulsa poster wanting sympathy. Relax bro, I rarely bash on Tulsa (look at all the positive posts I post in the actual Tulsa section of this website). I stated factual observation from my 5-6 trips a year to the Tulsa WF. It usually is pretty slow everytime I'm in there. Doesn't mean the store is failing, never said that. Glad to hear it is expanding as it is only good news for Oklahoma as a whole.

[bluedogok]

I thought we had a separate "liquor lobby" thread but I guess not.
Here is a story from today's Denver Business Journal about their liquor lobby legislation in Colorado.

Denver Business Journal - Sides far apart in quest for Colorado liquor-sales changes

[ljbab728]

For those who might be hoping that having Whole Foods might lead to also having a Trader Joe's this makes it look very unlikely unless we all start subscribing to Gourmet magazine.

http://money.cnn.com/2010/08/20/news...ce=yahoo_quote

[MikeOKC]

For those who might be hoping that having Whole Foods might lead to also having a Trader Joe's this makes it look very unlikely unless we all start subscribing to Gourmet magazine.

http://money.cnn.com/2010/08/20/news...ce=yahoo_quote

Thanks for that link. That was a fascinating article on the "Secret World of Trader Joe's." After reading that from Fortune, I'm even more surprised they could open a store in Omaha. If distribution is a "problem" in Texas and Florida, how can they easily do Nebraska?

The relevant paragraph about new stories in an otherwise very long article:

"This distribution process helps determine where the company opens its stores. Texas and Florida have cities that boast consumers Trader Joe's covets, but insiders say the current distribution infrastructure makes it difficult for the company to efficiently get products to those states. To pick their next locales, employees look at demographics such as education level. In the past they've even looked at who's subscribing to high-end food and cooking magazines as a way of divining where the epicures are."

[ljbab728]

I also came across this in a comment at the end of that article. It's a store and concept that I wasn't familiar with but looks interesting.

http://www.junglejims.com/

[JerzeeGrlinOKC]

I also came across this in a comment at the end of that article. It's a store and concept that I wasn't familiar with but looks interesting.

http://www.junglejims.com/

What the....

It looks like a Grocery Store Chuck E Cheese. I think it would be cool if they had a ball pit in the fruit aisle.

[Swake2]

Another diatribe from our Tulsa poster wanting sympathy. Relax bro, I rarely bash on Tulsa (look at all the positive posts I post in the actual Tulsa section of this website). I stated factual observation from my 5-6 trips a year to the Tulsa WF. It usually is pretty slow everytime I'm in there. Doesn't mean the store is failing, never said that. Glad to hear it is expanding as it is only good news for Oklahoma as a whole.

Hey Mr. PR pro, you might want to look up diatribe, I'm not sure it means what you think it means.

[BG918]

I thought we had a separate "liquor lobby" thread but I guess not.
Here is a story from today's Denver Business Journal about their liquor lobby legislation in Colorado.

Denver Business Journal - Sides far apart in quest for Colorado liquor-sales changes

Not sure what happened to that thread. I'm just saying there are ways to get around the law and WF in Tulsa being adjacent to a large, upscale liquor/wine store is almost like having it in the same place. You just have to walk outside (through a covered patio) and pay at two separate registers. You don't have to move your car though, and you could also go to the Food Pyramid (former Albertson's) next door.

[foodiefan]

. . also having a Trader Joe's this makes it look very unlikely unless we all start subscribing to Gourmet magazine.

http://money.cnn.com/2010/08/20/news...ce=yahoo_quote

Gourmet is no longer in publication. Really sad, it was a great magazine.

[soonerguru]

I also came across this in a comment at the end of that article. It's a store and concept that I wasn't familiar with but looks interesting.

http://www.junglejims.com/

A place to get wings and Cici's Pizza on site? Not exactly what we're pining for.

[OKCMallen]

A place to get wings on site? Not exactly what we're pining for.

Speak for yourself.

[metro]

What the....

It looks like a Grocery Store Chuck E Cheese. I think it would be cool if they had a ball pit in the fruit aisle.

Exactly what I was thinking. I'd like to slide down a slide and get a gallon of milk at the end.