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Whole Foods

Skeezix said:
Whole Foods has cancelled its planned store in Calgary.

After defending Whole Foods on these forums, I must say in the past year they've really been resting on their laurels/falling behind. This past spring, it was easier getting local asparagus from discount supermarkets than Whole Foods - Whole Foods had the local stuff for a much briefer window than most supermarkets, and even then was really pushing the imported stuff from Washington state. More and more, I find they stock fewer and fewer Canadian products. Most recently, they eliminated most Canadian brands from the household goods aisle (they still sell Nature Clean) - even Cascades paper products got the boot. I went to their Facebook page to inquire, but somebody already had and just got a "yeah, we don't carry those lines anymore - sorry not sorry" response.
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Food-wise, they recently added Fiasco Gelato (and sorbetto) - this brand is from Calgary (and were on Dragon's Den's season premiere) and is pretty good. The pineapple mango sorbetto reminds me of the blended fruity teas Starbucks used to have in the late 90s.
 
While WF has dithered; expansion plans for Big Carrot, Nature's Emporium and Farm Boy.

Lunch being eaten.
 
So I popped into the WF Bayview location last week.

For the most part, nothing to write home about.......

It looks like a WF.

Notable variations:

A much greater emphasis on self-serve throughout the design.

The butcher counter is now small and most meats, including sausage are pre-packed.

Most Bakery items (cakes/tarts) are pre-packaged, including slices.

Their pizza slice station is now self-serve.

Also, they added a make-your-own taco/burrito counter.

And a burger station. Burger/fries/pop/ $12 if I recall correctly.

One clear positive in the hotbar space they've gone back to more 'ethnic' variations of food.

Something they used to do at the Yorkville location, before deciding some years back that all food should be bland.

This store had Chicken Tikka Masala, a couple of kinds of curries and pakora, and a couple of other interesting dishes.

On balance, decent store; but I'm not sure this feels like their 'A' game to me. For this area, and the competition in this market......
 
I don't see how the Whole Foods will survive at this location in the long run.

It's mere presence is a disaster for Metro however. Between the Crosstown construction, Loblaws and now Whole Foods, Metro has a lot less traffic than it used too.
 
WislaHD said:
I don't see how the Whole Foods will survive at this location in the long run.

It's mere presence is a disaster for Metro however. Between the Crosstown construction, Loblaws and now Whole Foods, Metro has a lot less traffic than it used too.
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I agree. I stopped there after Mother's Day brunch close by, just to pick up a few items for the next few days. It's HORRIBLE, IMHO. It felt small, empty (especially for a Sunday), and didn't really have much to offer. I wanted to grab some salad for dinner, but they didn't have packaged, meal sized portions (which I see at Yonge/Sheppard and Yorkville) and it felt...cheap. They DID have a taco bar (which Yorkville lacks), but I didn't see a stir-fry bar. The prepped food stations felt tiny as well. I have yet to visit the other GTA locations, but so far, Yonge/Sheppard wins in my books.
 
I tried the new Bayside Whole Foods on Saturday morning. It's neither small nor horrible, IMHO, and didn't appear cheap at all. It's a nice, very pleasant store - bright, airy, with nice design. But I agree with @Northern Light - more packaged foods, smaller butcher and deli counters, which was disappointing. At the end of the day, I prefer the Yorkville store. And, surprisingly, nothing particularly new - no new concepts, no pushing of the envelope. They are running on the spot.
 
I agree with the others that the new Whole Foods Bayview is a disappointment. I am hoping the one opening in Buffalo will be a good addition to my monthly trip to Trader Joe's.

And who knows what Amazon's ownership of WF will bring.
https://nyti.ms/2tuNWdk
 
PinkLucy said:
Just coming to post that -- this is very interesting. I've been in the grocery business for years -- this is a game changer.
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I wonder how it is going to affect the brick and mortar grocery store scene given Amazon's expertise in distribution and delivery. Longo's grocery gateway is bit of a niche right now.

AoD
 
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