(Above, Whole Foods' original proposed rendering for store in Charlotte's Elizbaeth neighborhood) In 2004, Charlotteans who'd been long-hoping for a Whole Foods to land in Charlotte were delighted to hear that Grubb's Elizabeth Avenue redevelopment project would include the area's first store, at the corner of Hawthorne Lane and Elizabeth Avenue. This never materlized, however, and now it seems that a
Fresh Market will occupy at least part of that space. Still, Charlotteans who wanted Whole Foods to come to Charlotte thought that they'd at least get a SouthPark location, which would be directly across the street from the
Morocroft Harris Teeter and the
Morrison Earth Fare on the site of the Colony Apartments. But on last check on Whole Foods' own website, that has been taken off of the upcoming projects list having people questioning
Grocerying and asking "what gives?"... We don't have any answers as to why Whole Foods seems to keep skipping over Charlotte, because the demographics are prime and, well, the demand in Charlotte is definitely high as ever.
(Above: Whole Foods locations across the Carolinas)
A frequently asked question is "Why do cities like Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and Winston-Salem have Whole Foods, yet all of them are smaller than Charlotte?"... The partial answer is that Whole Foods took over The Wellspring Markets in the Triangle and Winston-Salem and then subsequently converted them to Whole Foods Stores. However, upon checking Whole Foods' website for upcoming locations in NC, in addition to finding that the SouthPark location had been removed, we discovered that Raleigh is getting another brand new location on the north side of that city! Furthermore, the South Carolina cities of Charleston (Mount Pleasant) and Greenville have landed relatively new Whole Foods stores, both cities whose populations are far lesser than Charlotte's is.
As we've mentioned before, Charlotte does have its fair share of local, regional and national chain of natural food markets, but there is just something about having the Whole Foods Name that distinguishes a city, right? What are your thoughts on this issue? Leave some comments!
(Store photos via WholeFoods.com, Whole Foods Elizabeth Rendering via Little Architecture)
(Above, Whole Foods' original proposed rendering for store in Charlotte's Elizbaeth neighborhood)
(Above: Whole Foods locations across the Carolinas)
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10 comments:
The Whole Foods name has cachet. It works in a similar manner to names like Nordstrom, Costco or even Target. In fact there is a lot of cross shopping between the above nameplates. Whole Foods represents an exemplary standard of quality in natural foods, and the fact they are very selective about where they locate doesn't hurt.
Speaking further on this, Charlotte's got a lot of good real estate, but not a lot of good real estate deals. The landlords and developers seem unwilling to negotiate with certain tenants because they feel their locations are important enough that they don't have to make concessions. This leads to delays in certain retailers coming to town (cough, Saks,cough) or odd choices for what would appear to be stellar locations (like Bojangles at SouthPark)
Just my 2 cents.
I hear there is a group trying to keep Whole Foods out of Charlotte...
I have been waiting for Whole Foods to land in Charlotte for years now. I even called the company after I saw that they deleted their Charlotte from the coming soon list. They gave me no reason as to why they changed their mind but I really hope that they will change it back. Charlotte desperately needs a Whole Foods. Earth Fare tries to be like them but a pathetic attempt in all departments. There is just no comparison. I can't stand that store but am forced to shop there until hopefully Whole Foods has mercy on us and builds one here.
JOHN MACKEY.....
STAY OUT OF CHARLOTTE.....
I really wish Whole Foods would open a store in Charlotte. Especially after all of this left wing moronic behaviour because of Mr. Mackey's personal opinions. It seems if our opinions don't mimic the Speaker of the House we will be punished too.
Come on Whole Foods - I will drive from Waxhaw to shop youur store.
I drive to either Winston-Salem or Greenville regularly just for my Whole Foods fix. How green is that? Seriously guys, open a Charlotte store.
I'm sorry to be coming to this discussion so late. As a WholeFoods employee, I can tell you there are two major reasons you do not have a WF in Charlotte:
1. The demographics just aren't right. WF bases its decisions on a lot more than population and income levels. The crime rate in Charlotte is a major factor. (Yes, we take crime rate very seriously.) Another factor is education levels. That's why North Raleigh will get a WF next year.
2. HT has thrown up all sorts of road blocks to keep us out of the entire Charlotte metro area, with zoning "issues" and "citizen" groups opposed to WF. If you haven't noticed, HT is trying to become more WF-like, and they don't want our competition.
It is absolutely disheartening that Whole Foods chooses not to come to Charlotte based on demographics such as crime and education -- because the demand for a Whole Foods to come to Charlotte seems higher than ever. But the saddest thing of all is the political power that HT is exercising if that is the case, then that pretty low on Harris Teeter's part. Charlotte deserves a Whole Foods.
Anon 8:52:
What I don't understand is why Whole Foods said in 2004 that "Charlotte is a great fit" etc... http://www.grubbproperties.com/news/index.cfm?newsID=4 ...these 'roadblocks' seem absurd, you have a store in Durham - isn't the crime rate higher there? Can't a city with a Neimans and Nordstrom support a Whole Foods as well?
WF employee again...
Durham has a WF because the company bought out Wellspring, which already had stores in Durham, Raleigh, and Chapel Hill. Many Triangle residents, in fact, still call us Wellspring. Old habits die hard.
Regarding the crime rates, according to neighborhoodscout.com, the overall crime rate in Charlotte is 101.12 per 1,000 residents. Durham's is 78.39 per 1,000, the highest in the Triangle.
As for HT's behavior being low, well, that's the name of the game. HT wants to protect its home turf.
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