Austin paged
A big-city food writer took a look at Whole Foods markets and didn’t like what she saw (“Is Whole Foods Straying From Its Roots?“; byline Marian Burros; NYT February 28). I don’t go to WhoFoo that often, although the frequency has increased since the discovery of products by Margarita’s Tortilla Factory, but I’ve never seen anything like what this writer says she saw in the produce department. Of course, she’s writing from the northeast and we’re here enjoying the flagship store. (Remember, nobody is saying what will happen to Sun Harvest, owned by Wild Oats, following the merger with WhoFoo.) >>> Austin Adventure Boot Camp gets a big photo and a mention in “A Boot Camp For Men With a Shy Side” (byline Shivani Vora; NYT, March 1). What steps are those? Shy Austinites? >>> Former Austinite Peter Yang photographed the March 8 Rolling Stone cover story, and RS links to a video of the shoot. RS reports that he came to Austin to obtain a business degree but took up photography instead. I remember noticing his photographs in Texas Monthly. He’s certainly just one of thousands detoured on the Highway of Life as a consequence of coming to Austin. >>> Attracting little or no attention, the 2007 Esky Music Awards (Esquire magazine, April 2007) say that the Austin City Limits Festival is better than Bonnaroo and others because it’s right downtown instead of miles away from all the good stuff. Pinetop Perkins is named “best real live bluesman” and James McMurtry, “biggest agitator.”
The article on WFM straying from its roots really annoys me. First of all, Whole Foods was never your typical “health food store”. It’s first store on Lamar sounded the death knell for traditional and more narrowly focused health food stores, Saferway and Good Foods, and drew lots of attention because it sold (gasp!) meat and beer and wine.
WFM has always been more of a gourmet, high-end supermarket. The first big stores at Brodie Oaks and 183 @ Burnet in the 1980s had marble floors and imported cheeses–more yuppie than hippie.
WFM has made inroads in making organic, sustainable, and locally-grown foods more mainstream. It can’t change 60 years of supermarket practices overnight or by itself. The critics should compare WFM to other supermarket chains like Safeway, Albertsons, and Randalls.
I think HEB stepped up to the challenge with Central Market–I shop there more regularly than WFM. I just realized that today is the flagship WFM’s second anniversary.