First 365 by Whole Foods opens Wednesday

[rwsandiego]

Whole Foods has quite a few stores in the 30k square foot range that I've been into over the years. Most Wild Oats were that size or even smaller also. The stores are not as spacious as some of the others but they still seem to do a great business, probably better per square foot than the larger stores do. I think Whole Foods is a very smart operator and they will either do what they need to do to make this store work or convert it to a regular Whole Foods (won't be that hard since it looks like they are working with an empty shell of sorts).

Also I seem to remember a few years ago Whole Foods was being given a lot of cheers for opening a store in what was deemed a "poorer" area in was it Detroit area? And this store was supposedly to have lower prices, and less features, so it would better cater to the neighborhood? I wonder what happened to that?

According to the following article in the Chicago Tribune, the store is doing well:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/ct-detroi ... story.html

Their next foray into a poor neighborhood is scheduled to open this Fall in the Englewood section of Chicago.

[storewanderer]

The fact they are doing another location like this elsewhere tells me this location has been successful.

I figure this company knows what it is doing and from a quality standpoint they really get it. Even if I go there and pay some rather high prices for something I can always be confident in its quality. I do not feel that way about any other grocer of their store count size. Some smaller chains like Nugget, Gelsons, etc. instill that sort of confidence but not a chain with hundreds of locations.

[veteran+]

The fact they are doing another location like this elsewhere tells me this location has been successful.

I figure this company knows what it is doing and from a quality standpoint they really get it. Even if I go there and pay some rather high prices for something I can always be confident in its quality. I do not feel that way about any other grocer of their store count size. Some smaller chains like Nugget, Gelsons, etc. instill that sort of confidence but not a chain with hundreds of locations.

Spot on!

[klkla]

Gelson's has finished the remodel of their store in Silver Lake that will compete with the new 365 by Whole Foods down the street.

They have gone a completely different direction by adding more service departments. In addition to the Service Deli, Service Seafood and Victor Bene's bakery they had before the remodel they have added a Gnoshing & Imbibing Wine & Craft Beer bar, expanded produce, Juice bar, full service cheese shop, service meat counter and Wolfgang Puck Pizza station. They have also expanded the salad bar and hot food bar sections.

The store received a complete new decor package, new flooring as well as new ceiling tiles and lighting (I haven't seen these types of lights used in a supermarket before. They're either fluorescent or LED tubes within a plastic container that shine up and then reflect light indirectly to the sales floor. Looks better in person than in the photos IMO).

http://supermarketnews.com/store-design ... ges-553111

This is also the new prototype that Gelson's will use next year for the new stores in Rancho Mission Viejo and Manhattan Beach (Assuming they are able to build that store - There is opposition from neighbors that live nearby the property). This prototype will also be applied to the former Haggen in Thousand Oaks that still hasn't opened. The owner of the shopping center wants to do a complete exterior remodel of the center and Gelson's plans to open after that is done. They also indicated that 4-6 of the former Haggen stores acquired earlier this year will also be remodeled into this prototype.

[HelloOutThere]

That new Gelson's looks quite nice in the photos. They should roll this out ASAP to the Carlsbad location (former Haggens former former Albertsons). My parents live down the street from Carlsbad, and my mother, who is a huge retail geek, reports that traffic there is very low at almost all times. It's in the upscale La Costa neighborhood of Carlsbad, and I could see these expanded service departments being big hits there. The closest Whole Foods is quite far, so I think the Gelsons "experience" would do quite well there.

Separately, the planned Manhattan Beach location would be absolutely superfluous for the area, in my opinion. There is already a Whole Foods, Bristol Farms, two Ralphs Fresh Fares, three Trader Joes, and a coming Lazy Acres within a 3 mile radius. The location is on an extremely busy, hilly, and dangerous section of Sepulveda Blvd. and is a standalone plot, not part of a shopping center. Plus it would mess up my evening commute so I'm against it.

[CalItalian]

That new Gelson's looks quite nice in the photos. They should roll this out ASAP to the Carlsbad location (former Haggens former former Albertsons). My parents live down the street from Carlsbad, and my mother, who is a huge retail geek, reports that traffic there is very low at almost all times. It's in the upscale La Costa neighborhood of Carlsbad, and I could see these expanded service departments being big hits there. The closest Whole Foods is quite far, so I think the Gelsons "experience" would do quite well there.

Separately, the planned Manhattan Beach location would be absolutely superfluous for the area, in my opinion. There is already a Whole Foods, Bristol Farms, two Ralphs Fresh Fares, three Trader Joes, and a coming Lazy Acres within a 3 mile radius. The location is on an extremely busy, hilly, and dangerous section of Sepulveda Blvd. and is a standalone plot, not part of a shopping center. Plus it would mess up my evening commute so I'm against it.

Gelsons will be very popular there. They've got an excellent plan (and a website with all the details). http://www.gelsonsmb.com/
Lazy Acres isn't coming for years in the former Albertsons/Lucky site. http://tbrnews.com/news/lazy-acres-hope ... b7b88.html