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<p>There are a lot of people who live in our area who buy organic and have high incomes. I’ve seen them come out of our Whole Foods with full shopping carts. I only buy certain items from them. Adore their food bars!</p>
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<p>This is the experience I’ve had going to our local Walmart.</p>
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No grocery store is worth this drive. :eek:</p>
<p>It is mind boggling to me to think about the grocery stores I grew up with in Illinois; Piggly Wiggly was one. Even in the seventies avocados were fairly exotic. Iceberg lettuce was the norm, peppers came in one size and color and you were lucky if you had a choice of two or three varieties of apples. Then I moved to Orange County, CA in 1981. Even back then I could have a glass of wine while I shopped at the Irvine Ranch Market. And the produce was like nothing I’d seen before.</p>
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Two breadwinners, still not a particularly high income.</difference></p>
<p>I’ve added WF to WM as stores I won’t give my business to (there,see? It’s not a matter of high-end or low-end; both have obnoxious attitudes about employees!)</p>
<p>My weekly shopping is usually at the local Shop Rite (I do like to shop local where possible–they employ scads of folks from our town.)</p>
<p>I go to TJ’s about once a month (or when i run out of wine.) Costco occasionally–it’s got a nightmarish parking lot so I have cut down.</p>
<p>Farmers Markets and my garden in the summer. (actually, the garden supplies us in the winter, too–I’m defrosting basil for pesto as we speak.)</p>
<p>I’d adore a Wegmans (my mom and sister shop at the Allentown PA one) but the nearest one is 20 miles from me–can’t justify the gas or time.</p>
<p>One of the best things about Wegmans is that they train their employees well. It makes me smile that some appear to think that Wegmans is only in up-scale neighborhoods. That just isn’t true, and anyone from Western NY knows that the stores there, the original Wegmans, do not fit that description. I remember the days, in the not too distant past, when that was the only area that had Wegmans stores.</p>
<p>They are well-run, well-stocked stores that offer a wide variety of goods, and they have always had great customer service. They also treat their employees well and their college scholarship program is well-known and appreciated by the many students who work there.</p>
<p>I like Wegmans. I wish we had one in Toronto, but I do stop in when I’m in the U.S. visiting family and friends in an area that has one. The staff at Whole Foods is also well-trained. I get a few things regularly there, but by the looks of the full shopping carts when I go, there are many who do the bulk of their shopping there. It is always busy, always, regardless of the day of the week or the time of day. Our local Whole Foods is often the most profitable one in North America, according to the stats that are released every few months. We have a small, local fruit/veggie market that sells produce, cheese, salads, fancy frozen products and this & that, and that’s where I buy my produce because it is by far the best I’ve ever found anywhere. It’s more expensive, even than Whole Foods, but it’s better, and I enjoy supporting the family who owns it.</p>
<p>We have a huge Wal-Mart not too far away. I rarely go, but never for food. I used to drop in when they had diapers on sale, for my D’s baby, but potty-training has cured that habit. ;)</p>
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Yes, there is - now. I left the state a few years ago, back when it was just a vague plan on the Wegmans website.</p>
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It was 30-40 minutes early Saturday mornings, and yes, yes it was - I was saving a ton of money over the Columbia stores which all managed a combination of high prices and terrible food. Even after gas money.</p>
<p>Garland, I pulled pesto out of the freezer five minutes ago. I freeze it prepared, James Beard’s recipe.</p>
<p>I don’t shop at Whole Foods either. It is over 20 miles away and too expensive. Simply put, I won’t pay $1 for an apple when I can go to my local orchard!</p>
<p>I WOULD shop more frequently at Trader Joes, but it’s a trek too.</p>
<p>I don’t shop and Whole Foods and I have a very convenient one. I don’t find the meat/fish to be as good as Wegman’s and my tastes just don’t match the store well. Sometimes I just want a box of Cheerios.</p>
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<p>I guess people don’t see the 365 brand products.</p>
<p>Whole Foods indicated in their last earnings conference call that they were moving to more lower-priced products and their stock price promptly got creamed. They have been moving to a lower-priced model for a while.</p>
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<p>I’m talking customer demographics. Not scale.</p>
<p>I wasn’t going to comment on this thread because from the get-go, I’d tell you I don’t like shopping at Walmart. (Side note: I’m not a big fan of any big box grocery anymore and would prefer smaller local grocers+ Costco + the produce store/farmers market, but I HATE out local Walmart ). </p>
<p>Now, I have been to a couple of Walmarts in the suburbs - SO much better! Look better, feel better, staff attitude better - why, I don’t know.</p>
<p>But what led me to finally comment on this thread was this. I ran into the crummy Walmart close to my house this afternoon - the first time in months. It is about 5 ish years old. When it when in, it was followed by other random low quality (not really sure what to call it - sorry) stores - a dollar store, Dots ($7 womes clothing store), Payless, video resale store, etc. in that same 5 years our very nice older established neighborhood has seen crime increase dramatically (break ins, bank robberies, parking lot thefts) , housing prices drop , etc. - I now drive barely a mile from my house and can’t believe the people I see who look shady, hanging around street corners, walking te neighborhoods without living in it , etc. </p>
<p>I blame much of this (not all) on Walmart - the clientele in the store and surrounding stores are largely not from our established neighborhood. I don’t feel especially safe in the parking lot (the has never been true in our area before Walmart). Other people in the neighborhood agree- in our case, our area, it seems that that Walmart changed the climate of the area and NOT for good. :(</p>
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<p>The Whole Foods in the West End of Boston does an incredible amount of business. That Whole Foods is close to Beacon Hill, Government Center and not too far from the Financial District. I imagine that it’s the regular grocery store for a lot of people that live in the part of Beacon Hill near MGH and those that live in the West End.</p>
<p>They get a huge amount of business from workers in the area grabbing lunch or dinner too.</p>
<p>I really don’t know of any other grocery stores in the area unless you’re talking about convenience stores. The other massive attraction is that they have free, validated parking. You can use their lot as a shopper or pay $10/half-hour if you need to park in the area. Sometimes I go there and spend $5 just so that I can park there for a while (I usually have to be hungry too).</p>
<p>BC, we ordered the dinner food for DS’s college graduation event from THAT Whole Foods. But it was a special occasion…not our regular shopping spot!</p>
<p>That’s my son’s regular grocery store. I’m glad he can afford it.</p>
<p>Per you previous post BC —you are correct WFoods 365 products are priced well and are of high quality. I love their olive oil. I also find (at least in our store) they have fantastic prices on bulk bin almonds and walnuts. Better prices than I have found anywhere else.Ours also has great weekly specials like “taco tuesday” and feature .99 tacos made fresh.Needless to say I pop in once a month for tacos, nuts and olive oil.</p>
<p>* I blame much of this (not all) on Walmart - the clientele in the store and surrounding stores are largely not from our established neighborhood. I don’t feel especially safe in the parking lot (the has never been true in our area before Walmart). Other people in the neighborhood agree- in our case, our area, it seems that that Walmart changed the climate of the area and NOT for good. *</p>
<p>Oh, indeed, it is icky pooh Walmart causing our economy – just, for sure!</p>
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<p>Yes! It’s definitely possible to go into Whole Foods and spend a lot of money but it’s also possible not to. I buy the 365 brand for stuff like pasta, almond milk, canned goods, etc, and the prices are right around what Trader Joe’s charges for the same thing. I stay away from things like fancy chocolates, pricey out of season produce, and the food bar, except as a splurge. That’s an easy way to double your bill.</p>
<p>I’ve never been to a WalMart, actually. It was one store that my parents would absolutely not shop at and I agree with that so I don’t. I don’t actually think there’s one particularly convenient to me right now, but there was in my home town. I tend to divide my grocery shopping between Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Shaw’s, the local co-op, and farmers markets, depending on what I need. I like Trader Joe’s for the convenience food, Whole Foods for specific specialty items, the co-op for the bulk bins – I go on member appreciation day and stock up on rice and beans and lentils and flour and such – and try to get most of my produce at the farmers markets. I do tend to shop cheap at the farmers markets, too, though. Those gorgeous locals berries are delicious but I can’t buy them as my fruit for the week for the entire time that they’re in season.</p>
<p>Not sure exactly what you meant by that SewHappy - you seem awful bitter??</p>
<p>I didn’t blame Walmart on our economy - in fact I said that other Walmarts in the area seem fine. But OUR particular store - is an example of a store drawing in people- and I didn’t say poor - that was an assumption - who don’t live in the neighborhood, but who now spend more time in the neighborhood NOT in stores but wandering. If you are not able to see my store, my neighborhood don’t draw a conclusion based on my theory. THEORY. Not proven. But an opinion shared here and in my MIDDLE class ( not upper! ) class neighborhood.</p>
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Even there it doesn’t match up. No, Porsche does not generally put dealerships in poor areas, but Wegmans (as others have noted) does not shy away from an area so long as it appears that there is enough interest to support the store. And while Porsche has no products below the “entry luxury” category, most Wegmans products are within (from my recollection) 10% of Wal-Mart prices as listed - and that is ignoring the previously discussed issue of the relative proportions of actual edible food coming from the stores! They have the truffles (sometimes, at least), but they still have potatos, and ground beef, and whatever else you want to consider “staples” - Porsche has ONLY luxury products and CANNOT realistically sell to any but a small segment of the population.</p>
<p>So the demographic is “anyone who can get to the store and afford prices that are within a close range of Wal-Mart”</p>