Whole Foods

[CCOKC]

I have been hearing a lot about a grocery store in dowtown for a long time. Why do we need a Whole Foods specifically. At one time I think Whole Foods was a local grocery store in Austin( i think). I just moved back to OKC from Boise ID and they have a local grocery store called the Boise Coop. This is not as nice as a Whole Foods but is definitely a "destination" grocery store for this area. It has organic produce and a deli and a bakery as well as a gelateria. Why can't we have a local coop type of grocery store here and stop trying to look for an outside company come in here and save us. I am not sure how a coop works but am sure somebody local could do it.

[jbrown84]

I'd be all for something local.

[BG918]

I'd be all for something local.

What about Akin's? I think downtown, especially the Deep Deuce/Triangle area, needs a health foods store and then maybe a smaller urban grocery store like Crest Foods or even a CVS or Walgreen's in Bricktown. Maybe when more people move down there build a full supermarket like Homeland or Albertson's in Midtown.

[jbrown84]

Yes, it seems there would definitely be a market for a CVS or Walgreens downtown.

[foodiefan]

Re: Metro/Wild Oats location: looks are deceiving. . .it's in Brookside which is one of the most popular older sections of town. Lots of neat shops and eateries on Peoria' also close to Cherry Street area. . .close to all of the old (as in 30s) oil $ homes. I think it's what OKC's Western Avenue is striving to be. . .has a great liquor store in the same shopping center. . .so you can get your libations after you've shopped. I love it, but am hoping for somthing bigger when "it" finally a happens in OKC.

Re: a local coop--excellent thought, however, not a "year-round" solution. . .we have great local/organic Farmer's Markets during the growing season, but a summer like we had last year really hurts local (state wide) production. . to keep a year-round supply, I think you would have to have access to year-round markets. . .like Central Market/Whole Foods

[metro]

foodiefan, I hope and know OKC's Western Avenue isn't striving to be Peoria. I think OKC's Western Ave. is already a better destination despite it not having a Wild Oats. Western Ave is far more nicer and cleaner. I saw plenty of transients and run down stores along this area in Tulsa. Not saying OKC is better, just saying Western AVenue is way nicer.

I would also love and prefer to see a local co-op grocer in downtown. I think a Crest and Akin's combined into one would be ideal. They are also both local even though Akin's is a national chain. Perhaps we should get an email campaign going to Crest.

[BG918]

foodiefan, I hope and know OKC's Western Avenue isn't striving to be Peoria. I think OKC's Western Ave. is already a better destination despite it not having a Wild Oats. Western Ave is far more nicer and cleaner. I saw plenty of transients and run down stores along this area in Tulsa. Not saying OKC is better, just saying Western AVenue is way nicer.

I would also love and prefer to see a local co-op grocer in downtown. I think a Crest and Akin's combined into one would be ideal. They are also both local even though Akin's is a national chain. Perhaps we should get an email campaign going to Crest.

Western Ave. district better than Brookside? When was the last time you on Brookside? That area is booming and becoming a lot bigger and more walkable than the small pedestrian-friendly stretch of Western Ave. around the Will Rogers Theatre. Brookside should be what Western strives to be. Western Ave. does have loads of potential though if the different parts can be united, especially Crown Heights to Nichols Hills. Future light rail line?

And wasn't it rumored that CVS or Walgreen's was opening up a location at the bottom of the Legacy apartments on Walker? That would be good for future developments around the Arts District and lower Midtown. Both areas of downtown need some kind of urban grocery, and soon there will be a need to the south as well with Core to Shore.

[jbrown84]

Hmmm... Western vs. Brookside...

It's tough because I think you have a much better selection of restaurants on Western if you consider the whole length of it, but Brookside is far more compact. But they also have a Delta Cafe right there on the main strip. :O

[metro]

I never said Western was better than Brookside, just Peoria or whatever street the Wild Oats is on.

[jbrown84]

The Wild Oats is on Peoria, which is Brookside.

[Spartan]

Brookside's commercial district IS Peoria. Basically.

Beyond that is just some mixed-use residential and some historic homes fighting it all. The Wild Oats in Brookside is actually on 41st a few blocks from Peoria.

[jbrown84]

Are you sure, Spartan, because I was there recently and just drove down Peoria through the area and we passed the strip mall where Wild Oats was.

[foodiefan]

Wild Oats is in a strip mall/shopping cetner that is on the corner of 41st and Peoria with 41st running E/W and Peoria running N/S.

[warreng88]

I never understood what the big about Whole Foods was… until this weekend. I went with my wife down to Dallas for the day on Saturday to go to North Park mall and IKEA and we ended up stopping by Whole Foods in Lower Greenville. I walked in and it didn’t seem much different than a Wal-Mart neighborhood market that is until I got to the meat and cheese section.

I think it would work great in that area right next to the church in Deep Deuce, but I am not sure of anywhere else around there. The prices were a little higher than I expected, but the quality is much better as well. And if you are already living in that area, you could probably afford the slightly higher prices anyways.

Does anyone know if Whole Foods has any interest in getting into the OKC market?

[tuck]

The Whole Foods on Lower Greenville is one of their oldest stores in the country; the newer stores are much better.

[metro]

what does this have to do with Bricktown?

[danielf1935]

Because with the influx of residental property in and around Bricktown, the next step to improve this areas for homeowners is a reatil grocer, and Whole Foods or something similar is diesired.

[bluedogok]

Wasn't the Lower Greenville location originally a Wild Oats?

Right now Whole Foods is in a fight with the FTC to rescind the Wild Oats expansion even theugh they have pretty much completed the acquisition and implementation of Wild Oats into the Whole Foods chain. They are pretty much in a wait and see attitude towards expansion into new markets until that is resolved. I know a few years back OKC was on their radar but they had no definitive plans on a when/where.

[mecarr]

Whole Foods is closing stores around the country as peeps aren't interested in buying $7 organic milk. Don't expect any whole foods in the OKC area for at least several more years.

[warreng88]

I just looked at their website and apparently there is a Whole Foods in Tulsa at 41st and Peoria. Anyone ever been to this one?

[t3h_wookiee]

It's a Wild Oats with the new Whole Foods name. I went in, and it's not bad, but it's nowhere near as nice as the real Whole Foods I went to in Denver. That store was amazing!

[The Old Downtown Guy]

I just looked at their website and apparently there is a Whole Foods in Tulsa at 41st and Peoria. Anyone ever been to this one?

I make it a point to hit that store every time I'm in Tulsa, ten or twelve times a year at least. Though not as large as a typical Whole Foods like the ones in Denver mentioned by t3h, IMO t's way better than any other food store in Oklahoma. And Whole Foods is way better than Wild Oats was.

It's hard to stock up for a month, but I always bring back plenty of fresh fruit and veggies along with a few quarts of Low Fat Hagan Daz and Ben & Jerry's . . . my fav is Cherry Garcia FroYo . . . almost impossible to find in OKC. Good cheese selection too. They have a house brand . . . 365 . . . that is very competitively priced and offers a good selection of canned and packaged items.

[gamecock]

People will pay more to shop at a high-end grocery store (my wife, in particular). I love it here in Oklahoma, but it is shocking to me that we don't have any up-scale grocery stores whatsoever. Albertson's was the closest thing we had and now, very unfortunately, that has been taken over by Homeland and turned into yet another discount, low-budget grocery store. I have a difficult time believing that the entire OKC metro area cannot support a single Whole Foods, Central Market, Wegmans, etc. They can be found every few miles in other parts of the country. Heck, I'd even settle for a "regular" chain like Harris Teeter.

[metro]

gamecock, try shopping at Forward Foods and Native Roots in Norman as well as Crescent Market in Nichols Hills. Akins also carries a decent selection. While none are a Whole Foods, you can get many similar items.

[gamecock]

I agree, Forward Foods and Native Roots are both great (and we do pick up specialty items there from time to time). What we're really looking for, though, is just the kind of grocery-store shopping experience that you get at City Market or one of the large, new Whole Foods stores. It's not just the organic items and the cheeses, but the bakery, the produce, the seafood market, the in-store dining (e.g., gelato station, fresh brick-oven pizza, massive salad/food bar), etc....again, it's really just the whole experience that we miss. I have lived in smaller parts of the country that have more upscale grocery stores than the ones we seem to have around here. I really see this as an untapped market in OKC...hopefully, one of these companies will come to the same conclusion in the near future.