[pooh]

...to Whole Foods on Monday. Amazing place! Now I, too, will join in the chorus singing, "Bring Whole foods to central Florida, bring Whole Foods to Central Florida".

[asianthree]

its my favorite too

[Schaumburger]

Pooh, Looks like you visited one of the Whole Foods stores in Chicago. They are very good. Excellent wine and cheese selection. Also for those who need gluten-free foods, Whole Foods has a wide selection.

[AriaGrandparents2013]

We sent Whole Foods an email requesting that they consider a store in The Villages area. They responded with a generic response and list of future stores and I believe Alamonte Springs was the closet location.

It's one of our favorite stores though it can be pricey.

[jblum315]

Originally Posted by pooh

...to Whole Foods on Monday. Amazing place! Now I, too, will join in the chorus singing, "Bring Whole foods to central Florida, bring Whole Foods to Central Florida".

We used to call it Whole Paycheck

[senior citizen]

Originally Posted by Schaumburger

Pooh, Looks like you visited one of the Whole Foods stores in Chicago. They are very good. Excellent wine and cheese selection. Also for those who need gluten-free foods, Whole Foods has a wide selection.

Doesn't the Sweetbay in TV have an entire gluten free section???
Plus an organic foods sections?

Sweetbay is Hannaford in New England and immediately when we walk in we see the gluten free and the organic section........huge store up here.

Maybe I'm mistaken, but I thought Sweetbay in TV also had those alternative choices............but Whole Foods would be GREAT. Our kids love them....

[rubicon]

Whole Foods like Fresh market is very expensive and many people here are on retirement budgets. However like all upscale stores around the country getting specialty items especially on sale is a good bargain but utilizing them as their one and only grocery store cost prohibitive for most

[l2ridehd]

That is why I would rather see a Wegmans. We have both Wegmans and Whole Foods here in Northern VA and IMHO Wegmans is far better. Great selections, with every possible specialty item, cheeses, gluten free, organic, wine, deli, butcher shop, fish market, excellent produce and decent prices.

[zcaveman]

Originally Posted by senior citizen

Doesn't the Sweetbay in TV have an entire gluten free section???
Plus an organic foods sections?

Publix has both organic and gluten free sections.

z

[buzzy]

Down in Palm Beach County, there are Publix Greenwise markets, that compete with Whole Foods. So if Publix thought there would be enough business, maybe they would put in a Greenwise around here.

[KathieI]

Pooh, isn't that Chicago store there newest opening? It must be a fabulous store. In L.A. every new store they opened was better than the last. It is by far, my most favorite store in the world. I have been a customer since they were Mrs. Gooch's (the original store in LA) since the late 70's. Its very important to me to buy the best meats, fish, veggies and fruits that you can buy and if it means a little more money,,, its that important. The rest of my staples can be bought at Publix or Sweetbay.

I have been to the WF both in Orlando and in Tampa and my preference is the Tampa store but they do not compete to the stores I have visited in CA and NY but they will do. Both Publix and Sweetbay have Gluten free foods but not to the extent that WF's has.

[Serenoa]

Originally Posted by l2ridehd

That is why I would rather see a Wegmans. We have both Wegmans and Whole Foods here in Northern VA and IMHO Wegmans is far better. Great selections, with every possible specialty item, cheeses, gluten free, organic, wine, deli, butcher shop, fish market, excellent produce and decent prices.

I keep seeing folks mention how they wish Wegman's would open a store in TV. Perhaps they don't know but most grocery store chains are REGIONAL. I believe Walmart is probably the only chain that has stores in every state.

From Wegman's own website:

"Today, we have stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland and Massachusetts. You’ll see from our list of future projects that our new store growth is concentrated in the northeast and mid-Atlantic regions, though we will continue to upgrade or replace older stores in our more mature markets, like New York."

In other words, Wegman's WON"T be coming to Florida. Just like Publix, whose stores are all in the southeast, won't be opening stores in the northeast, either.

We love our Whole Foods here in Birmingham, and visit it on average of twice a month for special items not available elsewhere.

[pooh]

Originally Posted by jblum315

We used to call it Whole Paycheck

LOL, I think it still goes by that..... We went in only for a few things, but did take a rather long walk around surveying the lay of the land. So many choices. One could easily spend much more and buy more than they wanted to or needed.

Bought some beef, ground turkey, veggies vegan foods, nice crusty sourdough bread, and I got to pick up some of my favorite body lotions and soaps. Guess Mike and I are going to make a journey to one of the stores near us this summer.

[jblum315]

There are Fairway stores in Manhattan and Brooklyn that are miles better than any other supermarkets including Whole Foods. But I'm certain they won't be expanding.

[tommy steam]

Love that store. My daughter calls them whole paycheck!