Here's an email I got from a reader on Monday: "Any new information about when Whole Foods is opening? Anxiously waiting!" Another, earlier message: "Is it EVER going to open?"
It's been more than a year since Whole Foods broke ground on its 42,000-square-foot store, near Fairview and Sharon roads. And considering that Charlotte has been tantalized with the prospect of a Whole Foods store of its own since 2004, when the upscale grocer planned to open a store in Elizabeth, readers seem to be getting antsy for the SouthPark-area store to open. (If you'd like a taste of some vintage Charlotte angst over Whole Foods' absence, here's a 2010 blog post by my predecessor, Jen Aronoff).
Whole Foods spokeswoman Darrah Horgan told me she's also getting lots of inquiries about the opening date, which was originally planned to be this past spring. No firm date has been set, but Horgan said, "August is safe to say, at this point."
So stay tuned. As soon as there's a date set for the grand opening, I'll post it here. Or, you can even follow me on Twitter and know even earlier.
Bonus observation: There's a lot going on in the local grocery market this year. The arrival of two new major players, Whole Foods and Publix, Harris Teeter buying all of Lowes Foods' local stores, Harris Teeter upgrading many of its local stores to large, distinctive, flagship designs, Wal-Mart overtaking Harris Teeter as the No. 1 grocer in the Charlotte region (OK, that happened in 2011, but the data was released this year) - well, it all makes good blog fodder.
whole foods is really expensive.
ReplyDeleteYes, even more expensive than Harris Teeter. Thank God for Food Lion and Walmart.
ReplyDelete"makes for good blog fodder". Well, if the writer agrees with your comment. If not, he won't post it. Very nice.
ReplyDeleteQueue the Whole Foods / Harris Teeter vs. Wal-Mart arguing.
ReplyDeletealtho it used to be cheaper, Food Lion is now on cost par with Harris Teeter and Bi-Lo. Whole Foods, Trader Joes and Earth Fare are even more ridiculously priced.
ReplyDeleteone word -- ALDI
ReplyDeleteIf you cannot afford the quality products sold at Whole Foods, and need to shop at Wal-Mart or Aldi, you should really not have kids. It's not fair to doom them to a life of obesity and poor health.
ReplyDeleteAldi is gross. A lot of what they sell comes from burned building salvage. Some of it actually shows water damage and scorched packaging. They also sell expired dairy products and nearly rotted produce.
ReplyDelete@10:42.........and maybe elitist minded soccer moms shouldn't have kids either, if they raise them to only like special treatment and exclusive lifestyles. How disgusting. I won't go to Whole Foods now just for this reason. Shame on you.
ReplyDeleteI'm about as broke as one can get. Government assistance broke. But I will pay whatever it costs to shop at Whole Foods. My kids and I deserve quality.
ReplyDeleteMy husband is a local executive. I stay home and raise our three daughters. I plan to shop exclusively at Whole Foods. I understand that not everyone is as wealthy as my family is, but you must consider what is important in life. Find a way to shop at Whole Foods. Wal-Mart and Aldi are dangerous. Our future generations are worth it.
ReplyDeleteTo anon 12:13, do you drive an SUV too? Live in Eastover?
ReplyDeletePeople cut corners on food and walk and here like rolly pollys. They shouldn't burden us with their health problems. Get to a gym, and eat healthy.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous @ 12:13... get over yourself, you clueless dummy. I sell fireworks for a living, so I can only afford to feed my son by shopping at Aldi. But I love him. Love is all we need.
ReplyDeletehave you guys heard of farmer's markets, or small mom & pop groceries? they usually have better quality at lower prices. its amazing to me how people are slaves to large chain stores & fast food restaurants.
ReplyDeletei do agree though: that elitist soccer mom talking about who should & shouldn't have kids is absurd. must be nice to be a kept woman, sitting on your perch.
You don't have to be rich to shop at Whole foods, they have discounts and coupons just like any other store. Some if their selections are just better for you. I love it, I'm glad it's coming and although I live in Cornleius, I'll still shop there as often as I can. It's just preference for me.
ReplyDeleteHarris Teeter is the best grocery store ever, an excellent mix of quality products, atmosphere, and good prices, particularly if you shop the sales.
ReplyDeleteTo all those decrying Whole Foods as elitist - it's all about the way one manages their diet. It is possible to shop at Whole Foods and have more than enough food to feed a family in healthful and tasty ways on a smaller budget than you'd spend at Walmart or Aldi because you're not wasting it on processed, non-local stuff that lacks nutritional value. You're also supporting the local economy by buying products from farmers and purveyors that otherwise wouldn't have a convenient marketplace for their goods, instead of having it trucked in from far away. Since I switched exclusively to Whole Foods shopping (I live in the Triad where we already have one), my cholesterol has gone from 210 to 145 and my blood pressure and bloodwork is immaculate for the first time in ages. Plus, the Whole Foods brand of staples are as inexpensive as in other grocery stores, if not cheaper. I haven't found better prices for olive oil or free-range eggs anywhere, for example.
ReplyDeleteHarris Teeter and their elite, pamapered home owner's association type scare the living hell out of me. Guess the same goes for Whole Foods now. Probably one of these republicans who want to sucede from Charlotte. Sickening.
ReplyDeleteWhole Foods is no more expensive than HT (which is ridiculously over priced). Tried to buy 4 oz of Kerrygold Irish butter. It was 5.99 per lb at HT...its $2.59 at Whole Foods. Unfortunately, I live in Ballantyne and HT is the only option for me. I will not shop at Walmart because I won't support such a horrible company and Aldi is not really a grocery store so much as a place you can buy food.
ReplyDeleteFor those of you saying you will only shop at Whole Foods because "me and my kids deserve quality", get a clue. You can buy healthy, quality foods at any grocery store. they all have natural organic options now. So the lady saying dont have kids if you can't afford Whole Foods is a moron. Which probably explains why she is a stay at home mom instead of working.
Sorry, HT is not the best grocery store every. It's only a place that the wealthy like to go to get pampered. It's a grocery store not a spa.
ReplyDeleteA lot of angry, bitter people here. It is good to have competition. Some stores are better than others on one respect or another. Supplementing a farmers market or a butcher shop (What's Your Beef in Ballantyne, thanks, Vic) or getting some very affordable staples from Trader's are great. If you have the time to clip coupons and scour the paper for sales, that works, too. Staying away from processed foods is best if you can. It's a mart shopper not the store that's important. I for one look forward to Whole Foods opening. Likely the best seafood (quality, not price) to be sold in Charlotte that's close to me.
ReplyDeleteI've been a Harris Teeter shopper for many years - love the stores and the selection. I always had a sneaking suspicion their prices were high. However, it wasn't until a few months ago that we actually compared prices. For a basket of typical groceries for a family of five, identical items, we found that HT was about 35% higher than Target. We were shocked. I guess we're paying for those nice HT stores.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous 1:17... I may be a "kept" woman, but as such I watch a lot of news on TV. So yeah, I do know a lot about how to keep children healthy. Perhaps you are unaware that the First Lady has also made it her business to regulate what our children eat. Try learning something before sounding off.
ReplyDeleteIf you want great fairly priced health food, shop Healthy Home Market. Been local in Charlotte over 30 years. They live the life style.
ReplyDeleteI am a self made millionaire, and I have been grocery shopping exclusively at Wal-Mart for 10+ years. Word to the not-so-wise among us: nobody ever got rich by repeatedly spending 25 - 30% more moeny for the same products at Harris Teeter, week after week.
ReplyDeleteBTW, with personal finance sense like that, have fun being a Wal-Mart greeter when you're 70. I'll be long since retired.
I look forward to this opening. When I lived in DC I shopped almost exclusively at Whole Foods.
ReplyDeleteMilk is cheaper at Whole Foods than it was at even Wal-Mart. Maybe it won't be at this Whole Foods, but in Maryland it was.
Their meats were generally around the same price as what traditional grocery stores charged except the quality and selection was far better.
Produce was about the same price as a regular grocery store as well, especially if you bought stuff on special.
Other items like chips, cereal, cookies, and other impulse buy items were quite a bit more expensive, but the necessities were not.
Whole Foods prices have dropped a lot from where they were years ago because they now have the size to negotiate better prices and the supply chains in the organic food industry are much more established today than they were years ago.
Whole Foods sources everything it can locally, so this decreases the transport cost, which helps on price. This is the reason why farmers markets are able to sell produce for so cheap when fruits/vegetables are in season.
Here in Austin, our 4th WF opened today! Not only do we have them, but we have Central Market, a division of HEB Foods. Since moving to Austin from Charlotte, our food bills have dropped about 30%, givig us the ability to shop at WF and CM for specialty foods and great meats. HT would not survive in Texas as we have the lowest grocery costs in the nation.
ReplyDeleteHarris Teeter is a complete rip-off. I don't shop at Walmart because I don't care for their policies. The Charlotte area is in dire need of some competition now. I don't need a Whole Foods store since I eat properly. Food Lion has such a limited produce section.
ReplyDeleteI am so frustrated waiting for Whole Foods to open! The fact that they don't answer the "when" question is even more annoying. At this point, I can only hope for another competitor to give us more options. Is Publix coming to Charlotte? Harris Teeter has gotten ridiculously over priced and I am not shopping there any longer.
ReplyDeleteLook.. you can eat right shopping at any store. Aldi's and Walmart offer fruit and veggies just like HT and bilo, although less organic options. Not eating processed foods is true for any store you shop in, you can get twinkies and sixteen chocolate doughnuts at Harris Teeter too. Its about making the best choices you can with whatever budget you have. My husband lost his job recently and we have had to make some adjustments including where we buy groceries. We try to be smarter about how we spend for the same item often shopping at Target, Aldis Walmart to get better prices. I continue to provide fresh fruits and veggies and don't purchase foods with hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup or generally food with a lot of nonfood ingredients. You can be poor and healthy too. Promise.
ReplyDeleteYou can get "good" food pretty much anywhere. I live in Matthews/Mint Hill,NC, and we have a FABULOUS, but NOT gorgeous International Market here. They have EVERYTHING you have never heard of, and it's VERY inexpensive. I love it.
ReplyDeleteBUT, having said that, if I want the BEST quality fresh ANYTHING, I want a Whole Foods, so I will be happy to patronize that store if it ever opens. Haha. I DO NOT buy meat or produce at WalM. It is of very poor quality and may be GMO; they will sell produce that has been genetically modified, and I am not a fan. Otherwise I actually am liking Food Lion over HTweeter, since it IS less expensive. Whew. :-D