85 replies to this topic

[UncleVinny]

Wow! The new Whole Foods store is fabulous!

Great fresh food and an excellent coffee shop.

[Steve Heard]

It sure is nice, but their prepared foods can be over the top expensive. Their green bean and their brussels sprouts were $8.99 per pound! 1 herbed chicken breast was $8.99 as well. Is their quality that much better than the prepared items at Raley's or Safeway?

It really is a nice place, and I'm sure I'll buy some stuff there, but probably not much of the prepared stuff.

[Dave Burrell]

Very nice place, their selections in every section were great.

[Zeek]

The prices are astronomical. I will let others support those prices.

[Deb aka Resume Lady]

Overall I love Whole Foods, particularly for items I cannot find elsewhere.

I have to say I was surprised and disappointed with the intensely fishy odor at the fish counter. Fresh fish shouldn't smell and it was very off-putting. I hope this won't continue to be an issue.

[Homer]

Nice store, I will shop for produce there but not much else on a regular basis due to pricing.

[nomad]

I guess if I need some spice from Libya this is the place but 2.89 for a can of Rosarita Refried beans? Really?

[stacycam]

I guess Whole Foods has definitely earned its nickname - Whole Paycheck!

I haven't actually shopped there yet (waiting for the craziness to die down), but I can see myself buying produce and meats. It's definitely not going to be my primary grocery store.

Love the Bier Garten, though!

[momstaxi]

I guess Whole Foods has definitely earned its nickname - Whole Paycheck!

I haven't actually shopped there yet (waiting for the craziness to die down), but I can see myself buying produce and meats. It's definitely not going to be my primary grocery store.

Love the Bier Garten, though!

Walked through tonight. It is super nice to browse, but the prices are beyond high! $27 for filet mignon? I will go to a nice place and get it already cooked -- for sure, only a special occasion place.

[tsukiji]

I like it and will patronize as-is. It may seem a little more expensive on the surface, but that's part of the cost for the shopping experience / brand value they offer as a whole (no pun intended).

There are still some items that I will continue to purchase at Costco/Raleys/Nugget (ie - Prime grade beef, DiParma). But largely, I will probably buy most of my food stuff at Whole Foods now. I used to patronize them in Cupertino; I've waited almost 10 years for them to come here and so far I'm not disappointed.

As before, I'll probably stay away from the vegan baked goods. But other than that, it's all good for me.

[Thinkingoutloud]

It sure is nice, but their prepared foods can be over the top expensive. Their green bean and their brussels sprouts were $8.99 per pound! 1 herbed chicken breast was $8.99 as well. Is their quality that much better than the prepared items at Raley's or Safeway?

It really is a nice place, and I'm sure I'll buy some stuff there, but probably not much of the prepared stuff.

Totally agree! I ran there today to buy some picnic supplies. A few cheeses, prepared dips and I ran up a $130 tab! WTF?!?

[aztransplant]

The first day I went, I was not impressed. I was on a mission for raw, ripe, organic, whole, fresh fruit. While there was a bounty of conventional fruit, I was not impressed with the limited selection of organic. I asked if I could buy a case of organic bananas and was told they did not have a case to sell me. So, I bought their limited amount of almost-ripe organic bananas and about a pound of organic figs (okay, I do have to admit that the figs tasted LOVELY -- took some picking through to find ripe ones, but it was worth it!).

Last night, since I was already on that side of town, I decided to take my chances and try again. I met a wonderful produce person (I need to go back and get his name again!) who not only went to the back to get me a case of bananas, but helped me through checkout and out to my car and loaded them in the trunk for me. I saved $11 over buying them from the co-op, even with the co-op's 15% discount ($1.39 per pound at the co-op and 99 cents per pound at WF -- 15% member discount at co-op and 10% case discount at WF). I also saw that they had a "special" on organic fuji apples for $1.29 per pound -- better than Costco! If I hadn't already purchased 25 pounds at Costco, I would have bought them there -- would have saved close to $5.00.

So, there you have it. They have a new customer for bananas and I'll just have to keep my eyes peeled for "specials" on other organic fruit as it's available. I'm not interested in anything outside the produce department, and our garden is supplying more than enough greens right now.

[granto]

Nice store, I will shop for produce there but not much else on a regular basis due to pricing.

That has always been my opinion. I have bought very little at WF, but I like the look of the store. Used to live by one that was in the same center as a TJs. Always, ended up at TJs.

[Harold]

The prices are astronomical. I will let others support those prices.

I agree, $6 for a gallon of milk, $4 for a 1/2 dozen eggs. I may go there for some esoteric stuff I can't find elsewhere but they definitely will not become my regular grocery store.
If they stay as busy as they were on Saturday, they will do fine business wise, but I know they won't be staying in business on account of my visits.

[Harold]

a little more expensive