Whole Foods, an Austin-Based Store with Over 400 Locations in the U.S. and U.K. - Being Purchased by Amazon for $13.7 Billion

[jparrott]

You don't want all that salt in your stock, do you?

[Anna Blume]

Didn't occur to me.

[Anna Blume]

FYI, the Georgetown store may have the best produce section, but P Street carries family packs of chicken wings (prices are rising, but...). At least there was one sitting there just for me and whole birds were on sale, 20 cents less per pound than the wings. It's as if I had a Fairy Godmother.

[zoramargolis]

AT P Street yesterday, Meyer lemons were 99 cents a pound. I bought seven of them for $1.99. I had to pick through them a bit to find some that weren't overly soft, but there were lots more good ones there after I chose mine. I wish they didn't have quite so much wax on them.

[Barbara]

AT P Street yesterday, Meyer lemons were 99 cents a pound. I bought seven of them for $1.99. I had to pick through them a bit to find some that weren't overly soft, but there were lots more good ones there after I chose mine. I wish they didn't have quite so much wax on them.

Drop them in some boiling water for about 10 seconds. This will get rid of the wax without doing any harm to the peel or the insides.

[giant shrimp]

i have complained often enough about the prices at whole foods, and most recently ran into a problem with the ortiz tuna at the calvert street store: prices on nothing, incorrect information on the tuna pricing from the nearby cheese counter, and a jar costing $1 more than a tin even though it actually contains less tuna. but after a recent visit to dean and deluca i wonder if whole foods should not only be providing the prices on certain items, but also promoting those prices. that same jar of tuna, which sells for around $8 or $9 at whole foods, goes for more than $13 at dean and deluca and the price discrepancy with the tin is even wider than at whole foods. a generous pound of rusticehlla d'abbruzzo dried pasta is typically $1 or $2 higher at dean and deluca. i really like buying things at dean and deluca, but my sense is that its business on m street has dropped off over the years, because of the high prices. unfortunately, if you were looking for more than ordinary rice, you wouldn't have found it last week at p street. arborio rice (deborah madison's beet risotto in the big book is a good recipe, though i would go easier on the lemon than she suggests) was not on the shelf but i finally found some in bulk, and i spent five minutes helping a shopper look for wild rice to no avail. more space for steam tables at whole foods, less for more specialized food items, and before you know it you find yourself in dean and deluca with a small basket of items under your arm and hoping you can check out for under $200.

[porcupine]

More wackiness at the Bethesda store: first, for the third week in a row, none of the Trickling Springs Creamery heavy cream had a sell-by date. When I asked about it, the response was to pull all the bottles. "Can't sell it without a date." Well, yeah. Wonder why this continues to happen. Do any customers bother to ask or are they all too jaded?

Second, the following exchange:

me: do you have any skirt steak today?

woman at the butcher counter [note, not a butcher][short version] it'll be in tomorrow.

me: how about flank steak?

her [short version]: how much do you want?

...........

her, a few minutes later: we have hanger steak. Do you want that instead? It's the same thing as skirt steak.

me [squelching exasperation]: no thanks, I'll just take the flank steak.

I haven't been following the whole butchering beef thread but I can't believe that hanger steak and skirt steak are "the same thing".

[Anna Blume]

More wackiness at the Bethesda store: first, for the third week in a row, none of the Trickling Springs Creamery heavy cream had a sell-by date. When I asked about it, the response was to pull all the bottles. "Can't sell it without a date."

Are you sure?

That's what I thought at first when I picked up some buttermilk this weekend. The date is kind of inconspicuous, running up the right-hand side of the front label in very small black letters.

[porcupine]

Are you sure?

That's what I thought at first when I picked up some buttermilk this weekend. The date is kind of inconspicuous, running up the right-hand side of the front label in very small black letters.

I just pulled the bottle I got from another store and had a look. No date anywhere on either label.

The guy in the dairy dept took a long time looking at many bottles, and decided they had to be pulled because he couldn't find a date on any of them, either.

[Drive-by Critic]

I've always wondered how much effort WFM puts into backing its claims that it is selling sustainably grown/produced products. Not because I'm skeptical of WFM, but because I'm skeptical. I've lived 51.5 years in the age of hype, spin, and outright lies. So why should any given store be any different?

Well, I'm pleased to report that I just received an inquiry from an expert in sustainable seafood who is employed by WFM (she used to work for for one of the most respected and credible ocean conservation NGOs in the world, which is how she knew about the scientific organization I run). She contacted me to ask questions about the impact of aquaculture on wildlilfe.

Needless to say, it made me feel a whole lot better about the amount of money I spend at WFM! It was surprising and refreshing to find that someone who wants to sell me something actually has integrity.

Ellen Paul

Chevy Chase

[FunnyJohn]

I've always wondered how much effort WFM puts into backing its claims that it is selling sustainably grown/produced products. Not because I'm skeptical of WFM, but because I'm skeptical. I've lived 51.5 years in the age of hype, spin, and outright lies. So why should any given store be any different?

Well, I'm pleased to report that I just received an inquiry from an expert in sustainable seafood who is employed by WFM (she used to work for for one of the most respected and credible ocean conservation NGOs in the world, which is how she knew about the scientific organization I run). She contacted me to ask questions about the impact of aquaculture on wildlilfe.

Needless to say, it made me feel a whole lot better about the amount of money I spend at WFM! It was surprising and refreshing to find that someone who wants to sell me something actually has integrity.

Ellen Paul

Chevy Chase

This is indeed reassuring. I scored some delicious fresh-water lobster tails for Mother's Day from the Clarendon WF. Wonder if they were farmed. Anyway, they sure were good

[Meaghan]

Do you know what? Whole Foods now asks for your phone number when you checkout. I was convinced that the lady had the hots for me, but then the yucky, grumpy, veiny man behind me got asked his number, too (and grumbled 'noooo'), so I knew the checkout lady didn't love me. Does Whole Foods have Bonus Points like Giant now? They should be called Bonus Pricks...

[Barbara]

Do you know what? Whole Foods now asks for your phone number when you checkout. I was convinced that the lady had the hots for me, but then the yucky, grumpy, veiny man behind me got asked his number, too (and grumbled 'noooo'), so I knew the checkout lady didn't love me. Does Whole Foods have Bonus Points like Giant now? They should be called Bonus Pricks...

Linens-N-Things has been doing this for YEARS, now. Don't know why.

You can always memorize the weather number and give that.

[mdt]

Linens-N-Things has been doing this for YEARS, now. Don't know why.

I provides them data on where the customers are coming from. They probably also use it to send out ads, but they can probably get that info through other means.

[Heather]

I asked why they were asking, and the checkout guy said they are trying to determine where to open new stores.

[crackers]

I always decline to tell any retailer my phone number when they ask at the checkout. Just say "no, thank you" and they don't even blink. They have plenty of other ways to get demographic information.

[Heather]

I asked why they were asking, and the checkout guy said they are trying to determine where to open new stores.

ETA: they were asking for zip code, not phone number.

[JPW]

ETA: they were asking for zip code, not phone number.

As of yesterday, the Whole Paycheck in SS was still asking phone number. It allows them to collect info on the people who still use cash and not rely only on credit card information.

[Heather]

Huh. I swear I got asked for my zip code at the Silver Spring WF. Maybe they have more than one info fishing thing going on. Any retail establishment asks for my number gets a simple "I don't give that out."

In other news, the motel across the street from White Flint is gone, and a sign is up advertising a new Whole Foods market. They can't close the old Congressional Plaza store fast enough, IMO. It was better as a J.C. Penney.

[Pete]

I asked why they were asking, and the checkout guy said they are trying to determine where to open new stores.

They were asking for phone numbers in the Vienna Whole Foods on Saturday. We got the same story about determining where to open stores.

[giant shrimp]

Huh. I swear I got asked for my zip code at the Silver Spring WF. Maybe they have more than one info fishing thing going on. Any retail establishment asks for my number gets a simple "I don't give that out."

they were asking for phone numbers at the p street outlet on friday evening, which i happily provided because they had just given me a free bottle of brut egley-ouriet, clearly marked $35.99 in the case, computer scan marred on the bottle and the price not coming up in the database, i guess. for a couple bottles more, i would have given them my social security number and my mother's maiden name.

[DinerGirl]

I've been asked for phone and zip at various Whole Foods in the region (and other stores) and I stick to my standard response -- for phone number, I give out the phone number for the U.S. Naval Observatory Master Atomic Time Clock (303.499.7111) and for zip code, I give out 86023, the zip code for the Arizona ranger station at the Grand Canyon.

What can I say, I like to mess with marketing.

[mdt]

I've been asked for phone and zip at various Whole Foods in the region (and other stores) and I stick to my standard response -- for phone number, I give out the phone number for the U.S. Naval Observatory Master Atomic Time Clock (303.499.7111) and for zip code, I give out 86023, the zip code for the Arizona ranger station at the Grand Canyon.

What can I say, I like to mess with marketing.

I like to give out random friends phone numbers.

[JPW]

I've been asked for phone and zip at various Whole Foods in the region (and other stores) and I stick to my standard response -- for phone number, I give out the phone number for the U.S. Naval Observatory Master Atomic Time Clock (303.499.7111) and for zip code, I give out 86023, the zip code for the Arizona ranger station at the Grand Canyon.

What can I say, I like to mess with marketing.

Please keep doing that, it keeps people like me in a job.

The data quality checks will junk your row of data.

If you wanted to be truly nefarious, you would need to give out more plausible erroneous data.

[The Hersch]

for phone number, I give out the phone number for the U.S. Naval Observatory Master Atomic Time Clock (303.499.7111)

That's the number for the NIST telephone time service in Colorado, although when I called it I didn't get anything usable. But that's the number they publish. The US Naval Observatory master clock number is 202-762-1401. To keep this on topic, you can call that number from your cell phone while you're shopping at one of Whole Foods's 17 area locations.

[Heather]

I don't get the point of making something up. Why not just say no?

[laniloa]

I've been asked for phone and zip at various Whole Foods in the region (and other stores) and I stick to my standard response -- for phone number, I give out the phone number for the U.S. Naval Observatory Master Atomic Time Clock (303.499.7111) and for zip code, I give out 86023, the zip code for the Arizona ranger station at the Grand Canyon.

What can I say, I like to mess with marketing.

This is big in my family too. My dad responds to all address requests with 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, DC. He was very pleased when I moved to DC and he could have instant recall of a DC zipcode even if not the actual zipcode of the White House.

[The Hersch]

Like many government entities in and around Washington, the White House has its own ZIP code. For the White House, it's 20500. If you want to get personal, the president has his own ZIP+4, which is 20500-0001. The First Lady, and I assume the First Gentleman if the president is a woman with a husband, is 20500-0002. If it didn't have its own ZIP code, I think the White House would be in 20006. I wonder if any occupant of the White House has ever shopped at Whole Foods.

[Meaghan]

I don't get the point of making something up. Why not just say no?

I actually I said 'noooo.' I mean, I really don't want some tool in marketing at Whole Foods checking in on me at any point. "Um, no I don't want to do an 8 minute survey in exchange for a shitty pastry and a dollar off of my next purchase. Goodbye."

[bookluvingbabe]

I usually give the zip for the Supreme Court and the phone number for the Senate Operator. I figure we need better shopping on Capitol Hill, don't we???

[JPW]

I usually give the zip for the Supreme Court and the phone number for the Senate Operator. I figure we need better shopping on Capitol Hill, don't we???

Still not good enough.

USPS zip code files identify codes belonging to non-residential geographic entities (government agencies, businesses processing enough mail to be allowed their own zip code, etc) as "Unique". Any half-competent marketing or survey outfit would trash these data. Phone numbers are also classified as residential or non-residential.

[Al Dente]

Still not good enough.

USPS zip code files identify codes belonging to non-residential geographic entities (government agencies, businesses processing enough mail to be allowed their own zip code, etc) as "Unique". Any half-competent marketing or survey outfit would trash these data. Phone numbers are also classified as residential or non-residential.

What about 202-867-5309?

[JPW]

What about 202-867-5309?

A perfectly valid number. Click

[The Hersch]

634-5789?

[JPW]

634-5789?

You got me on that one. I didn't know it and could have worked late In The Midnight Hour before I figured it out. Ain't google wonderful?

[Pat]

The Old Town store has signs up at the registers and in the elevators (maybe elsewhere too) explaining that they will be asking for your home phone number this week at the end of your transaction (I think the dates they gave were May 10-16). It's to build a map for their use and they won't share the numbers with anyone else. The sign says that only home numbers will suffice. It says they do it once a year in order to serve their customers better...blah...blah. The end of the sign says something like, We thank you for considering our request.

I was prepared to decline politely, but, at the end of my transaction, the cashier quickly helped get the remaining bags in my cart, closed her aisle and took off. It appeared she was heading to the ladies. Some things are more important than demographics .

[Al Dente]

Starting this Sunday, May 27th, Farmer's Markets will be held in the parking lot of the Whole Foods in Fair Lakes from 9am to 1pm. Featured farmers include:

Chris’s Marketplace - Crab Cakes

Blue Ridge Dairy - Cheese & yogurt

Garden Gourmet – Greens and vegetables

Goat Hill Nursery – Herbs

Smith Meadow Farm – Meat and Pasta

The Bread ovens at Quail Hill – Baked Goods

Toigo Orchards – Produce and Sauces

Wollam gardens – Flowers and Plants

[squidsdc]

We met family for lunch at the Fairfax location, and I was pleasantly surprised to see the Farmer's Market in the parking lot! Since we had other plans, I unfortunately wasn't able to make any purchases.

Half the family met for lunch and a movie, joined by the rest for dinner at the Four Sisters. All who ate lunch were pleased by the selections and definitely would come back for more. Since we were on a time schedule for the movie, none of us could afford the time for one of the sit down meals. We instead gathered salads, omelettes, prime rib, and more from the buffet area. (And we all later exclaimed that this was the better of our two meals of the day.) I had a made-to order omelet, and was asked for the first time ever if I wanted it over easy or over hard. I've only heard that terminology relating to fried eggs in the past--but it definitely makes sense, I guess, since some people can be really weirded out by a "soft" egg. The tomato bisque soup was rich yet not too, and I had an assortment of vegetables and salads, including some of the sweetest beets I have ever tasted.

While I know the real estate is not available in the SS location for the sit down dining options throughout the store, is there any reason why we couldn't at least have more of these tasty and healthy buffet options? Definitely would be better than a meal at some of the other dining destinations in SS. I can only hope that the new location across from White Flint will offer something similar to the Fairfax location.

[Al Dente]

I can only hope that the new location across from White Flint will offer something similar to the Fairfax location.

It will. Not sure exactly what yet, but it will.

[Anna Blume]

N.B. I just wanted to mention that the Glover Park/Gtown store had a variety of skinny tapered frying peppers last week that are worth looking out for this weekend: beautiful bright yellow and red in addition to the customary green ones.

[JLK]

I have to give up on [most of] Whole Foods' soups. Black bean yields heartburn. Split pea yields hearburn. Sheesh, I'm getting old.

[dcdavidm]

With no fanfare, Whole Foods Tenleytown this morning started selling wine. There is a modest shelf display across from the cheese counter, and a few stacked displays in the area around the meats and prepared foods. Probably more to come. They are taking neighborhood NIMBY pressure seriously, though--no ID, no sale, including to the chagrined 70-something woman ahead of me in the checkout line.

[johnb]

Well, now we know why the Anti-trust division at Justice is going after WF in their bid to acquire Wild Oats. Any CEO who is stupid enough to say that, let alone write it down in a memo, ought to turn in his keys to the executive washroom and then be summarily shot.

http://yahoo.reuters.com/news/articlebusin...p;from=business

BTW, regarding the earlier exchange about being asked for your phone number if you pay cash, according to a recent conversation with a clerk at Lowes, which does the same thing, it is a way they can call up your transaction file if you want to return something and no longer have your receipt. Take it FWIW.

[Mark Slater]

They are taking neighborhood NIMBY pressure seriously, though--no ID, no sale, including to the chagrined 70-something woman ahead of me in the checkout line.

This is how the law reads in DC. This past college graduation weekend was difficult because people don't bring ID with them. They were very surprised when the answer was "No, sorry". Who goes out without ID, anyway?

[Al Dente]

Well, now we know why the Anti-trust division at Justice is going after WF in their bid to acquire Wild Oats. Any CEO who is stupid enough to say that, let alone write it down in a memo, ought to turn in his keys to the executive washroom and then be summarily shot.

http://yahoo.reuters.com/news/articlebusin...p;from=business

It's a good thing the FTC had the reasoning behind the merger spelled out for them, otherwise they may have just rubber-stamped it like Exxon/Mobil. After all, no merger ever approved has been for the purpose of gaining market share and eliminating a potential threat.

In all likelihood, If the merger is still prohibited after it goes to court, bye bye Wild Oats. The struggling company will probably go out of business.

For the full memo:

Why WFM wants to buy Wild Oats...

[zoramargolis]

Well, now we know why the Anti-trust division at Justice is going after WF in their bid to acquire Wild Oats. Any CEO who is stupid enough to say that, let alone write it down in a memo, ought to turn in his keys to the executive washroom and then be summarily shot.

http://yahoo.reuters.com/news/articlebusin...p;from=business

I found this quote interesting:

"Wal-Mart doesn't sell high-quality perishables and neither does Trader Joe's," the FTC quoted Mackey as saying. "That is why Whole Foods coexists so well with (Trader Joe's)<snip>."

Trader Joe's obviously does not sell anywhere near the number of perishables as Whole Foods, but every TJ's has a produce department, a fresh meat case, a selection of prepared foods and a whole bunch of different cheeses as well as a big refrigerated case full of milk, yogurt, butter, juice and other dairy products. The majority of TJ's perishables are every bit as high quality as Whole Foods'--often the very same products, at a lower price.

[Al Dente]

I found this quote interesting:

"Wal-Mart doesn't sell high-quality perishables and neither does Trader Joe's," the FTC quoted Mackey as saying. "That is why Whole Foods coexists so well with (Trader Joe's)<snip>."

Trader Joe's obviously does not sell anywhere near the number of perishables as Whole Foods, but every TJ's has a produce department, a fresh meat case, a selection of prepared foods and a whole bunch of different cheeses as well as a big refrigerated case full of milk, yogurt, butter, juice and other dairy products. The majority of TJ's perishables are every bit as high quality as Whole Foods'--often the very same products, at a lower price.

I think you're somewhat correct about dairy, but meat? produce? It's been a while since I've been in a TJ's, so maybe something has changed, but I only remember mostly frozen meats and withered pedestrian produce.

Don't get me wrong, I think TJ's does a great job with what they do, but I think it's a substantially different concept than WFM.

[Anna Blume]

Trader Joe's obviously does not sell anywhere near the number of perishables as Whole Foods, but every TJ's has a produce department, a fresh meat case, a selection of prepared foods and a whole bunch of different cheeses as well as a big refrigerated case full of milk, yogurt, butter, juice and other dairy products. The majority of TJ's perishables are every bit as high quality as Whole Foods'--often the very same products, at a lower price.

The fresh produce that I have seen has been horrible...

In general, I find you have to be very selective at TJ's since the bargains on bags of produce often are not really bargains. Under-sized blood oranges for rock-bottom price are really good, usually, but one of the major problems is the fact that many (not all) of the younger shoppers go for cut up pieces of ready-to-eat/cook produce rather than fresh. Consequently, some of the inventory is covered with fuzz or rotten. Even if it's fresh, often I find the quality lacking when compared to WF where I buy the majority of my produce for half of the year.

However, TJ is the place to go for mushrooms. Real deal and good quality. Same on scallions. Onions less expensive elsewhere, but price is much better when compared to WF and no different in quality. Grape tomatoes. If you're into bags of washed salad greens and don't care whether they're organic or not, TJ's. And upon occasion there are excellent buys of perfectly fine things such as the satsuma oranges, artichokes, etc. Since the store's concept ties into the notion of "exotic" you will find items such as Zora's fiddleheads that are hard to locate elsewhere.

* * *

Don't have time to read the fine print in the blog Al Dente links (thank you!), but I find justifications for buying Wild Oats interesting. N.B. Washington, D.C. market is mentioned.

What strikes me most, though, is what is said about Boulder which I'm sure I've mentioned here or at eGullet before. I was in Boulder the year Whole Foods arrived in an aggressive attack on Wild Oats at its home base. It was my first experiene of the store and I was so happy to learn there would be a Whole Foods here when I had to move to D.C.

Granted, I was spoiled by my proximity to California. On the east coast, we just can't get the quality available in Colorado. However, there is no comparison between the paradisical experience of entering a WF market at the foot of mountains and oggling the bushy stacks of greens, smelling REAL BREAD from an amazing local bakery that the corporation co-opted, being treated well but un-cultish like by Customer Service and my g-d that seafood! None of that pre-cut plastic-wrapped, peeled and sliced stuff in the produce aisles. None of the fish filleted, spiraled with blanched, chopped spinach, ground pistachio nuts and gummy bears.

The store was fabulous because it was competing in its best pair of armor-plated Birkenstocks, all polished and shiny, ready for battle. It perceived its enemy as a worthy opponent and was raising its standards, not lowering them. When you start to look down on your client base and offer what you think it wants in patronizing terms, you get something like network television.

[Al Dente]

There are some good articles in the WSJ today regarding the proposed merger. They've been highly critical of the FTC. I liked this line by Holman W. Jenkins:

Happily, the Whole Foods case has invited a wave of ridicule from editorialists and commentators around the country, the only force that might begin to right the balance. ("Why, big Republican government really does care about the price of tofu in West Hartford," satirized columnist Rick Green of the Hartford Courant.)

[Anna Blume]

GET YOUR FRICO ON!

The most recent edition of Gourmet's cookbook has a recipe for Parmesan crisps that go by the name of frico.

However, frico is traditionally made with Montasio, a milk produced from cow's milk in Friuli, a Northern Italian region close to the birthplace of Lidia Mattiachio Bastianich and the location of the vineyards of her son Joe, a business partner of Mario Batali. The cheese has been granted DOP status, i.e., like the DOC designation for wine, it is recognized as a regional specialty of a superior, monitored quality.

While some claim fully aged Montasio the best agent for producing frico, I find the medium-stage (cf. photograph and 3 grades in first link above) of the cheese just fine for making the stuff. It fries into thin crisps, but better yet, is perfectly suitable for making a golden brown seal around a thick pancake of fried potato and onions and even, yes, BACON. As this Americanized recipe suggests, you can even put a green vegetable into the mix: click. The one recipe you'll find online from Lidia herself uses apples.

After triumphantly finding a supply of Montasio at Georgetown/Glover Park in 2006 and revelling in the glory that is frico, I was frustrated in attempts to persuade team members to order it again.

Happily, when I was shopping there yesterday, Elizabeth (team leader? very nice & knowledgeable) recognized me and pointed to the two wheels off to the side of her cheese case. Soooo, I am passing this news on to you in hopes that you'll find yourself there before the heat and humidity return and squash desires for hot, gooey fried potatoes. Please prove to the store there is a demand--and do use it for cooking. I find it rather boring served as a cheese w wine.

N.B. While boiled baking potatoes are traditional, I suppose you could use fresh egg pasta if you really wanted.