Well, Whole Foods has announced they're putting up several stores for sale, and one of them is the former Wild Oats store on Baseline that we've shopped at for years.
To be honest, I'm not all that sad. In fact, ever since Whole Foods bought Wild Oats, I don't think they've done a very good job at this particular store in the Basemar Shopping Center. Early on, it was identified by Whole Foods as one where they would try the "express" store design, meaning they were going to offer more "to go" meals.
A few days ago, I stopped in the store looking for some fresh fish, something I often buy at that store. Walking up to the meat counter, I looked around and asked "Where did the fish go?" Although half of the refrigerated section was shut down and not being used, the employee pointed me to a single case where all of the fish was now packaged up for sale.
No thanks. When I shop for fresh fish, something that Whole Foods truly excels in, I want to see it sitting on ice, smelling good and as fresh as possible. I simply don't eat previously frozen or farm-raised fish -- just not worth the money.
Right after Whole Foods bought Wild Oats, I stopped in to buy a dessert. That evening I had a yearning for pie. I looked around in the pastry section, but no pie. So I asked. Sorry, the employee told me, we're not carrying pies anymore. Huh? A grocery with no pie. This was not good.
So I'm hoping that Sunflower Markets, a great and friendly new grocery chain started by former Wild Oats founder Mike Gilliland, might just buy this Boulder Baseline operation. And, more competition is on the way, with Sprouts recently announcing it was taking over the large retail location in Boulder that formerly was a Pulse fitness center. That's pretty close to me in South Boulder, too. So bring on the competition I say!
In my opinion, and apparently in stockholders' opinions, Whole Foods has stumbled in its attempts to make people believe their prices are actually competitive and not that expensive. Sorry, they just can't knock the "Whole Paycheck" image.
Whole Foods does a lot of things right, and when it comes to fresh fish, excellent and all-natural beef and pork products, and a really delicious bakery, they've done an excellent job. Here in Boulder, the Whole Foods store is one of the best-performing in the country, and they are expanding the store to meet the demand.
Unfortunately, while booming at their main store, they just never really got some of the smaller Wild Oats locations going very well, especially the Baseline store. Too many times the meat selection just didn't look that good at all.
Also going on the block, as part of Whole Foods agreement with the FTC, is the original Alfalfa's store on Broadway. That store has a lot of sentimental value for Boulderites, since it's near the Hill and the University of Colorado. The transition to Whole Foods seemed to go much better there, although it's not really a store I shop at much.
Well, as Leftover Salmon sings, "When I grow up, I wanna work at Alfalfa's Where the cheese is dairy free ..."
Comments