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Menu
Is Whole Foods coming to the old Wal-mart shopping center on Hendersonville Road? If not, what is?
Well, I guess Mr. Mackey is free to doubt AGW. I’m also free to doubt whether I’ll ever shop at one of his stores…
checked with sources, only a rumor.
Thanks, Janet. Here’s the link to the NYer story:
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/01/04/100104fa_fact_paumgarten
For a good perspective on Whole Foods Market and its wack-o CEO John Mackey just take a look at the article in the current issue of "The New Yorker" (01-04-10). Not a flattering profile of the company, and definitely not of the CEO.
Whole Foods cheaper? That’s ridiculous!!! I don’t understand what they offer that EarthFare/Greenlife don’t already provide. ‘E’, what is that exactly? The wages/benefits? Is that all? Then we can all work there so we can afford to get our food there too. Biltmore Park can have ’em. Another notch on their belt.
Wegmans is what we really need to put the hurt on Ingles. It is the Publix of the North but better.
http://www.buffalonews.com/145/story/557545.html
And like Publix it is creeping towards us. They have been opening stores in VA and it is just a matter of time before they get to Raleigh then maybe us.
I ain’t no yankee, but Wegmans is the best I’ve ever seen.
"Some of you definitely need to ask more questions with Team members before the garbage keep rolling out of your mouths."
ITYM "employees"; just because your Randroid boss wants to call you by a different name doesn’t change what you are.
Doesn’t sounds like anybody knows what they are talking about regarding WFM these days. After the recession, we stream-lined and now remain ultra competitive against any local grocery chain. Some of you definitely need to ask more questions with Team members before the garbage keep rolling out of your mouths. As far as comments about personel…It makes me laugh. Snobby? Rude? Pfffft! That sounds like someone who’s shopped in WFM once, saw the prices, and now makes excuses on why not to shop there rather then taking one of the many classes offered on how to buy on a budget with WFM. Stop the ignorance, wait until we get there (if it happens), and then judge for yourselves. Ignorance is Bliss….OBVIOUSLY.
what location in south asheville are the looking at?
I think comment writers who write "get a life" need to get a life.
It’s hilarious when people on here (such as E and the educated, creative class of transplants) get so worked up about rumors of a grocery store opening a store in our city.
Whole Foods is just another corporate chain out to make money, regardless of where they are located. I’ve lived in a city where they had stores and find nothing terribly unique or compelling about them.
I mean, what’s the big deal/? Who really cares? Get a life people. Happy 2010!
All things considered, I’d rather have a Costco.
north or west, but not the south….south asheville is too far away…unless they build a bridge over the biltmore property…that would nice
The best thing that could possibly happen for grocery shopping in Western NC is for PUBLIX to come in and buy out Ingles, Bi-Lo or some other full-service grocery chain.
Ingles is absolutely horrible, but is really hard to avoid shopping there if you live here.
As for Whole Foods, who really cares? And I doubt most of us in WNC would meet the educational criteria, creative class, and snob criteria that Whole Foods apparently demands. Give us a break!
I’ve lived in cities where Whole Foods operates and I think they are really nothing special at all. They do have good produce year round, although it does not even compare to the local famers tailgate markets here in WNC.
One thing is for sure, Whole Food is not cheap. I read that they have been forced to lower prices on some items, but it is still expensive. Also, they don’t carry a lot of basic items, so its really just a place for specialty shopping.
Maybe they do have good employee benefits, but they have demonstrated how truly greedy they are when the CEO got caught in a scheme to try and knock off competitors and run up their own stock price. when they bought Wild Oats. Just typical corporate greed that really hurt their reputation, especially when the CEO was caught and admitted his involvement. Not cool for a supposedly cool company.
Like some others on here have said, I really don’t see anything unique or special about chains like Whole Foods, Urban Outfitters and others.
I would be very happy to see a Trader Joe’s in our area – but I think we could all get along fine without Whole Foods Market.
Nice try Mon. That article (from the UK) failed to point out that Heinz Organic brand doesn’t have HFCS. That’s what WFM carries….did he even read the label?
INGREDIENTS: ORGANIC TOMATO CONCENTRATE FROM RED RIPE ORGANIC TOMATOES, ORGANIC DISTILLED VINEGAR, ORGANIC SUGAR, SALT, ORGANIC ONION POWDER, ORGANIC SPICE, NATURAL FLAVORING.
http://www.heinzketchup.com/Products.aspx
The point is, WFM isn’t cheap, but it’s MUCH cheaper than EarthFare and Greenlife in Asheville on the exact same items. You bet those guys are freaking out. They know they can’t sustain 50% margins on products anymore.
I’d rather have a trader joes for balance
If Whole Foods Sells the Same Junk as Everyone Else, Then What’s the Point?
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_19919.cfm
I’ve lived in Whole Foods country before…they were always outrageously expensive…find our local stores much friendlier and wholesome
Sorry Russ. They’re coming (despite what the website says and what your friends say). You can sincerely doubt it, but I’m extremely certain that my info is MUCH better than yours.
And, no one is bashing Greenlife or Earthfare, just responding to posts that claim the area is already well-served by these stores. It’s not.
For you to say there is nothing terribly unique about WFM shows you don’t understand their product line or corporate culture very well. The others do a good job at imitating, but they are far behind WFM in buying standards and product offerings….not to mention team member happiness. Getting a WFM here will be a HUGE win for the community. They pay the entire premium for your health insurance, offer $1500 in flexible spending and pay an average of $16 per hour (even for cashiers). That’s pretty unique if you ask me.
Their main demographic for targeting new locations? It’s not presence of other stores, income, population……it’s education. How educated is the population? Don’t confuse that with how many universities we have and how good they are. It’s how educated are the people that live here. With the influx of those from the NE, retirees and other members of the creative class living here, Asheville is perfect for WFM.
Fall of 2010 is the target date, give or take a few months.
Checking the Whole Foods Market website today shows that there is only one store "in development" in NC and that one is in North Raleigh.
I know people who work at Whole Foods and they have said for some time now that the chain’s expansion plans have been severely cutback due to the economy and the integration of Wild Oaks Markets into Whole Foods. Given that, I sincerely doubt that Whole Foods will be coming to Asheville, especially since this area is already very well-served by Earth Fare and Greenlife.
Whole Foods are definitely not all they are cracked-up to be anymore — in fact, there is nothing terribly unique about WF — and they already are everywhere in the US by now. Just another grocery chain.
I am thrilled by the idea that we could be getting a Whole Foods close by. BUT, I don’t see why you have to bash other stores in the process.Every store has their faults, including Trader Joe’s, Ingles, Greenlife, Harris Teeter, AND Whole Foods. That’s why many of us go to different stores for different things. Let’s just celebrate the fact the store may be coming here.