Whole Foods and Other Retail

[tamias6]

It would be nice to have this "Whole Food" store that everybody has been hyping up. But if one were to come to the GR area it would go somwhere in the eastside of town which would require a long drive for me as I live in know nothing, nothing happening Walker.

[concretepoem]

It would be nice to have this "Whole Food" store that everybody has been hyping up. But if one were to come to the GR area it would go somwhere in the eastside of town which would require a long drive for me as I live in know nothing, nothing happening Walker.

It's interesting to see how Whole Foods has morphed into a publicly-traded company that's talked about like other 'big box' retailers, with economic impact that's both attractive and potentially destabilizing. When I was going to school in Austin, Texas in the early 1980s, the original Whole Foods Market had just opened and I started shopping there all the time. It was a small space, maybe 1500 square feet, located on a tiny lot with very little parking, along a scruffy, aging commercial strip on the fringe of downtown, near the old industrialized riverfront. It had high-traffic, but it wasn't right off a major freeway exit.

The neighborhoods around it were a mix of old historic mansions converted to apartments and professional offices, multiunit apartments for university student, cool craftsman-era bungalows, and an area called Clarksville, which was an old African-American neighborhood that was slowly being invaded by hippy, artist types. It was like a bit of Heartside, Godwin Heights, Heritage Hill and Eastown all coming together. It was the early Reagan years, and Whole Foods was a clear reminder that some of the holistic ideals of the 60's hadn't completely died.

Today, the Headquarters of Whole Foods and its flagship store are just down a few block from the original store, and it's a symbol of how that whole side of downtown Austin improved itself without totally wrecking the original scale of the area.

Knowing where Whole Foods came from, if it comes to GR it ought to stay true to its roots. It ought to be a neighborhood grocery store, not a regional magnet. It ought to feel organic to its surroundings, not like some hormone-fed big box built on a former apple orchard.

If DW hadn't turned the Spartan Store on E. Fulton at Carlton into a Family Faire, that would've been precisely the kind of location that reflected the values of Whole Foods when it first took root in Austin. That's the kind of site where Whole Foods can do what it did in Austin: give people a reason to rebuild within the existing infrastructure, to repair and restore a real community.

[tamias6]

So basically it's not just because they sell good quality products folks are raving about. Its good corporate behavior that would make Whole Foods very desirable to have in town. Correct?

It's interesting to see how Whole Foods has morphed into a publicly-traded company that's talked about like other 'big box' retailers, with economic impact that's both attractive and potentially destabilizing. When I was going to school in Austin, Texas in the early 1980s, the original Whole Foods Market had just opened and I started shopping there all the time. It was a small space, maybe 1500 square feet, located on a tiny lot with very little parking, along a scruffy, aging commercial strip on the fringe of downtown, near the old industrialized riverfront. It had high-traffic, but it wasn't right off a major freeway exit.

The neighborhoods around it were a mix of old historic mansions converted to apartments and professional offices, multiunit apartments for university student, cool craftsman-era bungalows, and an area called Clarksville, which was an old African-American neighborhood that was slowly being invaded by hippy, artist types. It was like a bit of Heartside, Godwin Heights, Heritage Hill and Eastown all coming together. It was the early Reagan years, and Whole Foods was a clear reminder that some of the holistic ideals of the 60's hadn't completely died.

Today, the Headquarters of Whole Foods and its flagship store are just down a few block from the original store, and it's a symbol of how that whole side of downtown Austin improved itself without totally wrecking the original scale of the area.

Knowing where Whole Foods came from, if it comes to GR it ought to stay true to its roots. It ought to be a neighborhood grocery store, not a regional magnet. It ought to feel organic to its surroundings, not like some hormone-fed big box built on a former apple orchard.

If DW hadn't turned the Spartan Store on E. Fulton at Carlton into a Family Faire, that would've been precisely the kind of location that reflected the values of Whole Foods when it first took root in Austin. That's the kind of site where Whole Foods can do what it did in Austin: give people a reason to rebuild within the existing infrastructure, to repair and restore a real community.

[concretepoem]

So basically it's not just because they sell good quality products folks are raving about. Its good corporate behavior that would make Whole Foods very desirable to have in town. Correct?

That's what I'd expect from them, given the culture that Whole Foods Market was founded on. But now that they've gone public, and Whole Foods has been a 'high flyer' stock on Wall Street, and they now have to satisfy Wall Street's expectations on ROI, profitabililty, growth...feed the beast...largely by buying up local players arond the country to dominate the niche on a national scale....who the hell knows? I'd be willing to bet they'd be perfectly happy to make decisions on site locations that feed the sprawl in order to show a better bottom line to the investment community. When you're a publicly traded company, that's often times the only community that really matters. I hope they do come to GR, and locate somewhere near the center of the city, and prove me wrong. Then it's up to us as consumers to support them, even if the location isn't 'convenient' to the affluent.

[tamias6]

That's always the part that unerves me is when a company goes public. To satisfy greety and hungry investors the greater good of the community is often put on the back burner or taken off the stove completely. Wal-Mart is the most infamous example of that. Let's hope that's not the case for Whole Foods as it does sound like its a good company and worth adding to the GR area.

[concretepoem]

That's always the part that unerves me is when a company goes public. To satisfy greety and hungry investors the greater good of the community is often put on the back burner or taken off the stove completely. Wal-Mart is the most infamous example of that. Let's hope that's not the case for Whole Foods as it does sound like its a good company and worth adding to the GR area.

Yeah, Wal-Mart's done serious damage to the old school retailers...the mom and pop stores selling clothing, hardware, fabric, cameras and the like on Main Streets of small towns all over America. But in that, local residents, acting as consumers, were complicit.

The most infamous example where consumers had no say at all in their city's future was when a company that was a consortium of General Motors, Philips Petroleum, Mack Truck, Standard Oil of California, and Goodyear bought the Los Angeles street car line and ripped up the tracks to replace them with buses after World War II.

Why don't you pick a suitable site in the city and do one of your Sketchups of a Whole Foods Market...you do really nice work.

[CK1]

What is a nice turn of events in the last few years is that people are finally starting to care about what stores build in their communities. WalMart has almost no chance in Chicago, and I forget which state, but either Vermont or New Hampshire has all but banned WalMart from building.

While "No WalMarts Allowed" is not a specific (or legal) ordinance, having zoning in place prohibiting big boxes from building, or mandating base minimum wages or benefits for large retail employers more or less does the job.

If we want to bring back what retail America used to be like, along with the town or city center retail that everyone speaks so fondly of, it is definitely possible to do so. BUT, voices and votes must be heard!

[torgo]

What is a nice turn of events in the last few years is that people are finally starting to care about what stores build in their communities. WalMart has almost no chance in Chicago, and I forget which state, but either Vermont or New Hampshire has all but banned WalMart from building.

While "No WalMarts Allowed" is not a specific (or legal) ordinance, having zoning in place prohibiting big boxes from building, or mandating base minimum wages or benefits for large retail employers more or less does the job.

If we want to bring back what retail America used to be like, along with the town or city center retail that everyone speaks so fondly of, it is definitely possible to do so. BUT, voices and votes must be heard!

I doubt its legal to simply ban big boxes in a community through zoning. They have just as much a right to be there as anyone else. Similarly, it is against State Law to "zone out" a sexually oriented business. The best way to deal with them is to carefully enact zoning that basically allows them to be built on one or two parcels, where they would not really want to be located anyways.

But remember, a lot of people love shopping at Wal-mart, so it is important to change minds and perceptions, instead of banning them outright. After all, we are a democracy.

[mpchicago]

WalMart has almost no chance in Chicago, and I forget which state, but either Vermont or New Hampshire has all but banned WalMart from building.

Wal-Mart just opened their first Chicago store in the Austin neighborhood a few weeks ago, the first of about 20 planed. The "Big Box" ordinance passed this summer by the Chicago City Council would have put into effect a $10 minimum wage for retailer

[dbrok]

There is also word that a certain other big box retailer has their sights set on the City of Chicago.

Apparently they're also adding four locations in Wisconsin (if we're talking about the same store).

[mpchicago]

Apparently they're also adding four locations in Wisconsin (if we're talking about the same store).

I think we could be talking about the same store, but I hadn't heard that.