RSS
Twitter
Facebook
YouTubeHeard a little buzz that they're looking at the renovated Lazarus building for a new store. Is anyone else hearing anything along these lines? Hopefully?
Columbus Underground Messageboard » General Columbus Discussion » Development
Rumor Mill: Whole Foods coming downtown?
[52 posts] [34 contributors]
Topic Rating:
(Total Ratings: )
Rate this topic:
Rate this topic:
-
Rick Carraway
Login to Send PM
Posted 2 years ago # -
mrsgeedeck
Castle of Lions
Login to Send PM
Really, with North Market less than ten minutes away, what's the point? Not that I don't think downtown could use a grocery store, but overall I'd like to see either a (real) Bodega, or a Super Target; someplace to grab a freezer meal/discounted food and a pack of toilet paper.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Analogue Kid
5th by West-Northwest
Login to Send PM
Hate to be a debbie downer but where is the short term parking for that area? Are people going to carry their groceries across High Street to the Columbus Commons underground garage? Or down the street to the Lazarus garage which costs $5 for 1/2 hour? Not everybody is going to be on foot or bike. I don't see this happening now, but maybe in the future.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Rick Carraway
Login to Send PM
That doesn't make you a Debbie Downer, but a Thoughtful, um, Thinker.
Parking would be a question to answer. Maybe Whole Foods could invent something like a "Grocery Caddy." ha!
Agreed that Downtown needs a SuperTarget, too.
I think the Whole Foods, though it would be in competition with North Market, would not be entirely useless. North Market, though it has some groceries, hardly offers the breadth that a grocer does, even an "upscale" one like Whole Foods.
Posted 2 years ago # -
downtownguy81
Login to Send PM
I'd rather see trader joes. I'd go to TJ's several times a week. "Whole paycheck"... a few times a year for a treat...
Posted 2 years ago # -
lisathewaitress
SoHud
Login to Send PM
downtownguy81 wrote >>
I'd rather see trader joes. I'd go to TJ's several times a week. "Whole paycheck"... a few times a year for a treat...i concur. between the North Market and the "whole foods" on Lane ave, I'm pretty much set for fresh foods and dairy products. I would love to see a Trader Joe's
Posted 2 years ago # -
JonMyers
HCMC ✈
Login to Send PM
Ditto - I'd rather just go the North Market. The products are usually higher quality and it's a better shopping experience.
The Whole Foods on Lane is ok. I can deal with it for some things. Most Whole Foods are overkill. I can't stand going into those giant Whole Foods mega malls with their rat mazes of processed foods. Just like any other grocery store people run the maze and end up buying a bunch of crap they don't need. The difference is products purchased at Whole Foods give the impression of being "healthy", which justifies the higher cost.
Posted 2 years ago # -
lisathewaitress
SoHud
Login to Send PM
I pretty much go to Whole Foods to stock up on yogurt. No one else will stock the kinds of yogurt I love!
Everything else I can get at the Market.
And you are right - processed food is processed food. It's just like any grocery store except more expensive.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Rick Carraway
Login to Send PM
Watercooler gossip from people that, purportedly but not certainly, heard it through a "reputable grapevine," which may very well be an oxy moron. :)
In the meantime, timely article on Whole Foods in the New Yorker.
Won't disagree with anyone about Trader Joe's downtown. Just want to see something to serve the residents--present and would-be alike.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Walker
The KLD / Downtown
Login to Send PM
Rick Carraway wrote >>
Just want to see something to serve the residents--present and would-be alike.I'd argue that the Lazarus building would not be a good spot for it then. There's a larger concentration of Downtown residents around the location that they originally scouted four years ago:
http://www.columbusunderground.com/market-district-development-proposal
Of course, that was before they acquired Wild Oats and converted the store on Lane Avenue to a second Whole Foods location. (That Market District Proposal was also only a few months after the WF on 161 opened, to put the timeline in perspective.)
If Whole Foods is seriously considering a third Central Ohio location, I have to imagine that Downtown is probably not at the top of their short list of realistic sites.
As much as I'd love to see a Trader Joe's in the Lazarus Building too (I even went so far as to make a little mock up) I have to agree with Analogue Kid that the lack of short term parking is an issue. I doubt they would need much (the lot at the Easton location is fairly small) but I don't think they'd be willing to go in there with nothing at all.
Changing gears slightly... the building might be a liiiiitle on the small side for a TJ's, but I've been thinking lately that the old Umber Hall building next to CCAD would be a good spot for a specialty grocer of a similar sort. It's located at the NW corner of Grant & Gay. It was originally leased by CCAD, but has been empty for around 3 years now. It's got a small parking lot, and I think that on the surface it would appear to be a good spot that could serve a cross section of student traffic from CCAD/CSCC/Franklin as well as new residents on Gay, and existing residents on the residential SE side of Downtown. You've got some decent existing neighborhood foot/bike traffic and a small parking area for those who do want to make it a driving destination.
Win-Win? ;)
Posted 2 years ago # -
JaredThompson
Manhattan Beach, CA
Login to Send PM
Posted 2 years ago # -
TaraK
probably at the coffee shop
Login to Send PM
I'd love to see a Trader Joe's or a Whole Foods, and I don't think it would be in that much competition with North Market. I would continue to go to NM for the same reasons I go now: local or near-local meats, produce, dairy; great lunch options; the atmosphere/environment; cultural value. I would go to Whole Foods for the things I go there for: hard-to-find items, buying dry goods from the bulk dispensers, splurges. A store like Whole Foods could also have later hours.
Posted 2 years ago # -
HighLife
Grandview
Login to Send PM
I would LOVE some type of grocery store anywhere near Capitol Square. I work near the Statehouse, and if a Whole Foods/Trader Joe's/Anyone opened a grocery store that I could get to during my lunch break, I'd probably never have to drive to the store near my house every other night (I'm the type of shopper who picks up a handful of things every other day, as opposed to doing a big shop once a week). In fact, it would probably eliminate my need to drive anywhere during the week, as that's the only place I take my car.
North Market is nice, but I can't get there and back during a half-hour lunch.
Posted 2 years ago # -
jpizzow
580 N. Park St.
Login to Send PM
I think the Lazarus location could work if we had a streetcar down High St. That way, a good portion of the business would come from those living within close proximity of the line, which is a huge number. Parking would not be as much as an issue then. But alas, the streetcar will never happen.
I don't see it competing with the North Market at all. The NM barely has any groceries except for beer, meat and vegetables, which Trader Joe's does not have much of.
If the Sunflower market did not work on campus, then Trader Joe's will not either.
I'm guessing this was water cooler chatter.
Posted 2 years ago # -
mstimple
Login to Send PM
Not that I wouldn't mind any of these but I don't see them happening any time soon. Why would a grocer open a store that would probably cost more since it's downtown where parking is a hassle and few people live when there are plenty of other options in higher populated areas like the beautiful Brewery District Kroger or the Giant Eagle in G.V. and on Neil? It just doesn't make sense. The only locations I would consider if I were them would be the old Sunflower space or the new Grandview Yard.
Posted 2 years ago #
You must log in to post.
Launched in August 2010, TheMetropreneur.com is a local online resource devoted to small business development and entrepreneurship. Its aim is to tell the stories of Central Ohio's business community, foster regional economic development and assist entrepreneurs with its resource-heavy focus.