Whole Foods no longer a rumor

[Detroitkid]

Announcement should be made this Wednesday... Good or bad for the city?

While speculation surrounding Austin TX-based Whole Foods Inc's interest in Detroit has come from everywhere but the company itself, Mayor Bing dropped the biggest hint to date that the company is ready to make its announcement.


http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...t-announcement

[stinkytofu]

Still a rumor in my book.

[bartock]

Why would Whole Foods be bad for the city?

[Detroitkid]

I dont think it would be a negative for the city. I am excited about it. But some people would rather see local home grown grocery stores fill the void rather than a corporation. I can see both points but Whole Foods is definitely a sign of progress right?

[Danny]

WHAT! Whole Foods is coming to Detroit. Organic foods is very expansive to low-income residents. Whole Foods is still out the suburbs where is quite safe and making money out of rich folks. Who want to blew their food stamps in high pricey foods that turns from solid to liquid in 3 days? I don't

WORD FROM THE STREET PROPHET

Now go shop at your local Detroit Arab and Chaldean owned markets, I do and most of them do ole' time credits to the black communities

I miss you so, Neda.

[DetroitPlanner]

Nothing definitive from Whole Foods makes it still a roumor. It could very well be an Aldi or Trader Joes.

[iheartthed]

I dont think it would be a negative for the city. I am excited about it. But some people would rather see local home grown grocery stores fill the void rather than a corporation. I can see both points but Whole Foods is definitely a sign of progress right?

I don't think it has to be an either/or -- there is room for both. The Whole Foods brand is something that the neighborhood can market, which would help bring in more residents/potential shoppers to other stores.

ETA: Yes, this is still a rumor until it comes from the horses mouth.

[English]

I don't think it has to be an either/or -- there is room for both. The Whole Foods brand is something that the neighborhood can market, which would help bring in more residents/potential shoppers to other stores.

This is exactly what I was going to post. All very exciting!

[Zimm]

hasn't anyone learned that in the COD, until the door open for business, nothing is a sure thing?

could be a great addition, but not unlike so many "sure things" and even not so sure things that have gotten people excited then failed to materialize for one reason or another.

[Hypestyles]

..would a Whole Foods be committed to buying their wholesale locally wherever possible?

[DetroitPlanner]

..would a Whole Foods be committed to buying their wholesale locally wherever possible?

Buying thier wholesale? Wholesale is a type of selling!

[Detroitnerd]

More choices would be a good thing. My opposition to Whole Foods is largely because it is anti-union and uses waaay too much packaging. But the more the merrier, at least in theory.

[DetroitPlanner]

More choices would be a good thing. My opposition to Whole Foods is largely because it is anti-union and uses waaay too much packaging. But the more the merrier, at least in theory.

Not to mention they don't sell Ding-Dongs, twinkies, 3 liter faygos and Bettermades.

[Detroitkid]

From what I hear, Whole Foods is working with eastern market to source a lot of produce locally.

Whole Foods coming to Detroit is a pretty sure thing.

[agrahlma]

If it does happen…could someone please explain to me how this is a bad thing?? I’m having a really difficult time understanding the potential negative impact. Investment in the city is a bad thing? What am I missing???

[Detroitkid]

I don't think you are missing anything at all. But there will be some fallout from those who would rather see an independent store in its place.

I think the impact of having a tenant like Whole Foods set up shop in downtown Detroit will be more important than having a grocery store downtown. If Whole Foods sees an opportunity in Detroit what other companies will.

[English]

I don't think you are missing anything at all. But there will be some fallout from those who would rather see an independent store in its place.

I think the impact of having a tenant like Whole Foods set up shop in downtown Detroit will be more important than having a grocery store downtown. If Whole Foods sees an opportunity in Detroit what other companies will.

Agree. Especially companies that serve the young, middle and upper middle class demographics who can help restore the city's tax base.

I've chatted with some of the local coffee shop and restaurant owners. They seem really excited about this development because local farmers are telling them with WF, they'll be able to afford to grow more organic produce. Right now, most of what we get from EM is local-but-not-organic.

I'm most excited about the prospect of free range meats! I'm a carnivore and living near the A2 store spoiled me. I'm hoping we'll have a butcher there since I've waited forever and a day for Ye Olde Butcher Shoppe to open...

Also, one of my favorite parts of the A2 store on Washtenaw is the smokehouse. I'm sure we won't have that since this will be a smaller store, but a girl can dream, can't she?

[Crumbled_pavement]

Still a rumor in my book.

+1. It'll be a rumor in my book up until opening day - assuming there ever is an opening day. Remember, we were supposed to be getting a Meijer's too.

[softailrider]

Not to mention they don't sell Ding-Dongs, twinkies, 3 liter faygos and Bettermades.

They don't know their crowd yet, maybe they'll start.

[Enduro]

Good god. People complain because there are no groceries and when the groceries come they're not local enough? No wonder this community can't make any decisions.

Grocery stores run at very small margins with a very perishable product. I'm not really a "Whole Foods" type but good for them, this is a huge risk and they're gambling that we've reached a chicken/egg threshold. People are about to move in but are suspect, business are about to move in but need the people. Someone finally flinched and it was Whole Foods. I will go there for some produce, meat and fish and prepared foods occasionally. This could be a destination store like Ikea in Canton.

The Arab stores are great but their selection, quality and most importantly freshness is often suspect. At least University and it's neighbor down on Warren. Don't be willing to settle. Here's my breakdown of what we've got: Honeybee for ethnic and pork n' poltry, University for dry goods and Whole Foods for indulgences. The only negative would be if Whole Foods fails and it scares other businesses.

Also, remember to trust half of what you see with your eyes and nothing you hear.

[313WX]

So which store do you think will open first?

Meijer or Whole Foods?

And when they do open 5 years from now, how long do you think they'll last?

A year, 2 years tops?

Which do you think will be the first to go?

[English]

Whole Foods. At least half a dozen food/restaurant managers, owners, and workers I've talked to says that the WF team has already contacted them about purchasing foodstuffs for the new store. I keep hearing "a team of people have been here." Maybe it won't work out, but for some reason, they seem determined. [[Is there a Detroit booster in the WF operation? Perhaps a SE Michigan native who really wants to move home?)

[Patrick]

I hope it is true but I have some reservations about a few things. All it takes is one negative episode such as a shooting or an armed roberry...basically some habitual line-stepper ruining it for everyone. Will this place be a target for criminals looking for a quick fix?

[Det_ard]

From a strictly business perspective WF coming to midtown is somewhat speculative. They could build another store in say, suburban Dallas, and be assured of a certain level of revenue and profit. Building in Detroit is subject to more P&L uncertainty.

Countervailing that is the sure "win" of building a store in a city that's perceived as a food desert and an emerging hipster/artiste enclave. If they lose money the PR payoff may still make it worth it. There's also the value of exploring and learning from a certain type of developing market, swaths of poverty with islands of disposable income.

And who knows, they might make money. If they don't, and they decide to shut down in two years, they won't have lost so much money that they endanger the corporation.

I'd be surprised if they don't open in Detroit, and if they do, it's a good thing for Detroit and midtown specifically. The establishment of a corporate business like Whole Foods puts that area on the map for other corporate site location specialists. The sucess of WF in Detroit really will get the attention of businesses in a way that a sucessful City Bird or Slows can't. If they fail, we're just back to where we started.

Now I'm probably the opposite of the typical WF shopper and I don't think I've even been in one of their stores but I hope they succeed in Detroit.

[mwilbert]

Whole Foods has hundreds of stores. From a financial standpoint, one store isn't significant. I have no way to know what they are thinking, but the most attractive things about that location are probably a combination of little competition, a population with reasonable and probably increasing income, and good publicity about their corporate citizenship. There has been so much talk about the lack of supermarkets in Detroit that they will probably get more credit for this store than they would putting it almost anywhere else that could even theoretically support a Whole Foods.