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It’s Our 30th Birthday! I Remember When…
Share your Whole Foods Market memories. Don’t be shy…here’s one to get you started. This long-time Team Member recounts a rocky start in our relationship:
In the early ‘80s, just a few years after Whole Foods Market opened its first store, I used to go there for just one thing, tahini, because I had learned to make my own hummus and couldn’t find that crucial ingredient anywhere else. I’d take a deep breath before I went in, dart to grab a jar of tahini and nervously walk up to whichever cashier looked the least friendly. Back then, I was a cynical, introverted slacker and used to tell people who asked about Whole Foods Market that it was like you couldn’t leave without the cashier coming out from behind the checkout counter to give you a hug and tell you what a good job you did shopping. I was truly worried that I was going to have to suffer some kindness! Needless to say, I’ve changed some since then, and I now laugh out loud every time I tell someone this story.
Let us hear about your first visit to Whole Foods Market…or your hundredth! We’ve been around 30 years and almost 300 stores wear our name. We wouldn’t be here without an incredible collection of Team Members, customers, suppliers and partners, each with unique memories. So, share your stories here, whether they’re funny, touching, sad, meaningful or just plain silly.
Learn more about how we got to where we are today on our 30th Birthday Celebration page.
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I loved the first Ann Arbor store’s Juice Bar! (I miss it!) You could get all kinds of great HEALTHY juices made right then and there! I loved the wheat grass! Maybe one day you will bring it back?
June 2nd, 2010 at 6:11 pm
Back in the mid ’80’s, my family would stop by Whole Foods nearly every Sunday after church. We would do our shopping and my mom and dad always let us pick out bread and cheese from the delicious array. With our shopping bags full and loaded into the back of our old station wagon, we would roll the windows down (even in the middle of the hot Texas summer) and share the bread and cheese as we drove down the road, listening to the radio. Every time I step into Whole Foods now, the rush of unique smells–that you can’t ever really duplicate in another store–brings me back to those special days, and I can almost taste that bread. Thanks, Whole Foods, for (nearly, for me) 30 years of memories.
June 2nd, 2010 at 6:51 pm
just to say happy 30th and I remember when it was called Fresh Fields grocery store. Loved the shopping (springfield,va at the time 17 yrs); my husband and I always requested a store in Woodbridge,va ( cause we where buidling our new home). Here now in woodbridge , but no whole Foods still (here 6 years…)
BEST GROCERY STORE EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JT & CT
June 2nd, 2010 at 6:54 pm
I moved to Dallas in 1990 (I now live in Greenville, SC) and remember taking my gallon water bottles to fill at the Whole Foods near the “M” Streets. It was a totally new concept to me and I just loved being “green”. I am so pleased that I now have the store here in Greenville, SC. It truly has many special items I can’t get anywhere else.
June 2nd, 2010 at 7:19 pm
I remember my first entree into the world of whole foods. I was visiting my brother in Oakton Va and he brought me to mecca. As a foodie and living in a small town in NC, the selection of cheese made me swoon. I had not seen so many delicious choices since living in Europe! I remember walking through the crowded market carefully selecting delicacies to bring on a picnic. Samples were abundant and the temptations too beguiling to resist. We left the store with a whole cart full of groceries and canceled our dinner reservations in favor of staying home to cook up our good eats from whole foods!
June 2nd, 2010 at 7:38 pm
Whenever I get back to my hometown for a visit, I always visit the Whole Foods Market in New Orleans on Magazine Street. Not only do I shop for all the food for myself and my baby daughter there, I also get a chance to go back in time. The building where the store is located used to be a bus barn, and before that it was for streetcars. It is so wonderful to see that this old cavernous building has become something beautiful (and beneficial to the neighborhood). I think back to all the times I passed there and saw all the noisy, smelly buses; I never could have imagined it becoming a Whole Foods Market. Thanks for coming to the area.
June 2nd, 2010 at 7:55 pm
My very first visit to a Whole Foods Store was in Omaha,Ne. I had heard a lot of good things about the store and was anxious to see what it was all about. I had asked my boss if I could be 30 to 45 minutes late that day, for I wanted to check out the store, and knew I would not be able to go that evening. I got there early and waited until it opened. Soon there were others joining me to await the opening. Prior to the store opening we could hear cheers, and clapping in the store and the employees enthusiasm for us to come in soon the doors open. I entered the store with others following and realized I was the first customer and received a huge basket of Whole Foods products. WHAT a pleasant surprise!!! and definitely a very positive first impression. To this day I have never been disappointed with the customer service or friendliness or the food/beverage choices. Needless to say I had to call my boss and tell her I needed a little more time to explore the store. WHAT A FUN MORNING.
Happy Anniversary and to many more!!
June 2nd, 2010 at 8:16 pm
I wanted to eat at Whole Foods for my birthday. Most of my family and I went there to eat lunch. That was just yesterday!
We had a great meal and a great time together. We ate healthy food and enjoyed shopping in the store after lunch. The samples are great and the people who work there are very helpful!!! I love Whole Foods. I only wish there was one in Athens, GA, where I live. We ate at the Greenville, SC store.
June 2nd, 2010 at 8:22 pm
We moved here 5 years ago from Brooklyn, and I heard so many good things about Whole Foods that I wanted to go there even though it wasn’t so close to me. I happened to drive over to WF Middletown during a “toddler tuesday”. I took my chidren to see what was going on, and the woman said we can join. The store atmosphere was the nicest I’ve ever been to and my girls had so much fun at toddler tuesday! Every week I looked forward to going to see what will the next craft be. After the kids did crafts, we would do our shopping and then enjoy lunch. It was the best shopping experience I’ve ever had and will have. WF Markets are so unique and warm, there’s no Market like it. Keep up the good work, Whole Foods!
June 2nd, 2010 at 8:25 pm
I remember visiting Whole Food’s in Austin for the first time when our Daughter was born in 92′. I used to take her through the store in the cart and let her taste the organic veg’s. I loved that store and bought my first real nutritional book called a shoppers guide to whole foods which literally changed the direction of my families eating habits forever. We couldn’t afford good meat, but i would scan the meat section and get the good meat that was marked down. It was the only meat i would let us eat. Then, one day, i pulled out of the parking lot, not paying attention to the traffic in my new little station wagon & almost got smashed in on coming traffic because i wasnt really paying attention, i was to absorbed in my treasures i got from the store! ANyway…it was just a little fender bender & not that bad..everyone was ok! We live in Ft. COllins now, & i still shop at WF. I cant stand to go anywhere else. Not only is the food great…especially the key lime pie…but the people have a different kind of energy. The kind of energy that you get from being in a healthy environment. Thanks for all you do…from our WHOLE Family! Best wishes for continued success in all that you do….
June 2nd, 2010 at 8:43 pm
My first visit to a Whole Foods was back in the early 90’s. I had just been diagnosed with Celiac disease and honestly scared to death! I was living in the Chicago suburbs at the time and my Mom had told me about this “amazing” grocery store called “Whole Foods”. Our local grocery stores did not have the variety to fit my new “special” gluten free diet. Also, the employee’s at the local grocery store really were not eager to help me find products that were safe for me to eat. Whole Foods was a dream come true! Keep in mind, back in the early 90’s gluten free/ celiac really was not something common and many people I knew thought my illness was “all in my head”. Not the case at Whole Foods. The employees there took the time to show me foods and supplements I could eat safely. From that moment on, Whole Foods won my heart and my business!
Flash forward now to 2010. I have a 8yr daughter who not only suffers from celiac, but many, many food allergies. We now both enjoy our many weekly visits to our Whole Foods in Scottsdale, AZ. We are there so often, the staff actually knows both of us! The employees there are always so kind and helpful on any questions I might have. Another HUGE plus is the return policy at Whole Foods. Kids are still kids and we have had more than a few times where new foods we have tried have not suited 8yr old’s palate. No questions ever asked, we can return and get something Bella enjoys!
Thank you Whole Foods for keeping my entire family happy and healthy!
Kim Puente
June 2nd, 2010 at 9:15 pm
ooh yes, i remember my first trip to Whole Foods. at the time, Baton Rouge only had a couple of little health food stores with fairly limited selection, but finally, we were getting our own Whole Foods. for MONTHS before the grand opening, i counted down the days. i was giddy. when the big day finally came, i was like a kid in a candy store. here were all of these great products that i’d heard about online and in magazines but had never actually seen anywhere…literally, every time i turned around, i immediately spotted something awesome that i’d always wanted to try but never had the chance. i got some funny looks, but i didn’t care, i was just so excited! and there were lots of familiar faces too, even from the first visit. folks who had worked at other grocery stores that i frequented before flocked to Whole Foods to work, and they seemed pretty happy about it too.
but my favorite story is from last October, and i tell this story a lot. i had gotten an email about an Oktoberfest celebration that our local Whole Foods would be having, with beer and bratwurst, a costume contest…and at 3, they were going to be doing the Chicken Dance with a live band! now, i’m a massive dork, and i pounce on any excuse to get up and do the Chicken Dance. so that day, my husband and i made a special trip to Whole Foods for 3:00. but when we got there…well, apparently the live band had never showed up, and while one very enthusiastic employee had rounded up a little boom box and a CD with the Chicken Dance song on it, it turned out we where the only people in Baton Rouge who were interested in Chicken Dancing at Whole Foods. that poor girl *really* tried to find more people, but it just wasn’t happening. she felt so bad, she got the manager to give us a $10 store gift card.
and now, i have a great story about having been paid *not* to Chicken Dance in public. ;-D thanks, Whole Foods!!
June 2nd, 2010 at 9:32 pm
Its nice to know that Whole Foods has been around for 30 years now. But I have only been a customer of WF for about 4 years now. The closest one is about 15-20 miles away. Ive been hoping that someday there will be a WF in my city. Still waiting… I enjoy going there for the fresh, organic and different kinds of foods that are sold there. I love to buy the fresh foods sold at the deli. WF sells foods not found in other supermarkets. Its a great store to stop by on the way home and to pick up a nice, wholesome, satisfying dinner. Whether its a pizza or a salad from the refrigerated section to the fresh fish, seafoods and fresh meats ready to be grilled or broiled. Not to mention the wide assortment of fruits and veggies, always fresh and Ive never seen any moldy or rotten foods, like other markets.
Its not only about the foods at WF but the wide assortment of products such as paper towels, toilet paper, soaps, lotions, candles and many natural beauty products.
I do remember my first time entering a Whole Foods Market, I was like a deer in headlights and in amazement of all the colorful fruits and veggies and I was so excited to see their fresh assortment of fish. I went down every aisle and during my check out I commented to the cashier that the store was amazing. She let me know about the coupons that the store has available near the front doors and she even scanned a couple for me on the items I had! My son looks forward to getting his “treat” from customer service because he is a part of the kids club, every time we go for our shopping treat. I will be a customer of WF for many, many more years to come! No matter how far I have to drive to get to one.
June 2nd, 2010 at 9:36 pm
About 25 years ago, when I was a student at UT. My roommates and I borrowed a friend’s car to drive to the little whole foods on Lamar. We actually were asked to leave for “sampling” too much out of the bins. After living on both coasts and now back in Austin. My family enjoys the flagship whole foods and we’re careful not to sample too much out of the bins.
June 2nd, 2010 at 9:37 pm
I loved it when you had vegetable juices made fresh in your stores. It would be great if they came back. If that’s too difficult to provide, even vegetable smoothies that don’t require as much cleanup would be good.
June 2nd, 2010 at 10:01 pm
Growing up, my parents used to take me to Guapo’s in Tenleytown, DC and then we’d go to the Whole Foods around the corner after dinner. I just loved the sesame sticks and the goat cheese we used to get. I remember looking forward to trying the samples in the store and how pretty all the fruit was at the entrance, and my mom looking at the selection of fresh cut flowers. I would always find some exotic drink that I couldn’t find anywehre else and my mom would buy it as a treat. She’d embarass me by trying to guess the nationality of the check out person, often Ethiopian. Now I shop at Whole Foods in Arlington and it’s just as good. I love the Tandoor Chef frozen meals, man those are good! They have helped me lose so much weight.
June 2nd, 2010 at 10:08 pm
I was right there when it all happened. I was one of those few little girls whose father at an early age believed in a small local grocery store with fresh products. I can still remember the very first Whole Foods in Austin, where I lived near Lamar street. The best thing about whole foods at that time was how well everyone knew each other and you were often greeted by a cool old hippy! In fact, I remember to this day my father always running into someone he knew and how “local” everything truly felt. I can still remember those tofu hot dogs my dad would pick up with some blue corn chips and thinking this was normal back in 1980 when I was about five years old. Now I am a 34 year old mother of two little girls and I still shop y week at my local Whole Foods. Happy Birthday and thank you for always having great products!
Paloma Ellis- Gomez
Dallas, Texas
June 2nd, 2010 at 10:10 pm
My best memory of Whole Foods was just I returned to New Orleans to see friends and family after Katrina. Whole Foods was expected to reopen in the Garden District and we could not wait until the end of the week to revisit the store. What a wonderful homecoming! There was music and dancing in the aisles. It was the happiest day for us, the store and New Orleans. I remember buying every thing fresh because it was so difficult to get fresh food in the city. And right at the register, they had cut up fresh local strawberries that tasted like sugar, and we went right back in line and bought some!
June 2nd, 2010 at 10:12 pm
My best memory of Whole Foods was just as I returned to New Orleans to see friends and family after Katrina. Whole Foods was expected to reopen in the Garden District and we could not wait until the end of the week to revisit the store. What a wonderful homecoming! There was music and dancing in the aisles. It was the happiest day for us, the store and New Orleans. I remember buying every thing fresh because it was so difficult to get fresh food in the city. And right at the register, they had cut up fresh local strawberries that tasted like sugar, and we went right back in line and bought some!
June 2nd, 2010 at 10:13 pm
When I walk into Whole Foods (which is practically every day) I feel like I am walking into my home…I get a happy, warm, fuzzy feeling. Whole Foods makes me feel good. I have been shopping at Whole Foods (originally Fresh Fields) since they opened in Palatine, Illinois almost 25 years ago. Over the years I have gone through different food phases and Whole Foods is always there to help me along by allowing me to buy the foods I need. At present I am a Vegan and I eat gluten free foods. Whole Foods makes it easy for me to do this. I also purchase all my needs from Whole Body as well as cleaning supplies, vitamins, teas. Whole Foods has everything I need. When I retire it has to be somewhere where there is a Whole Foods or I am not moving there. Lucky for me there are so many Whole Foods in the U.S. The employees are so friendly and helpful. I never have a problem returning anything. THANK YOU Whole Foods!!!
June 2nd, 2010 at 10:19 pm
To share my favorite Whole Foods memories is like reading pages from my own book of life. I know that sounds ridiculous, but so many of the important milestones in my adult life are tied to Whole Foods.
My husband and I started shopping at Whole Foods when we were newlyweds after attending a healthy eating tour at the Kirby location in Houston, Texas. We were like, “Whoa! Why haven’t we been in here before! It’s not just for hippies!
” We often walked to WF from our little townhouse and would sometimes go 2-3 times a DAY just because we were bored and we loved shopping there, or wanted super fresh food. As a new wife, I especially loved the prepared foods. All I had to do was put it on a plate and I was golden.
When our daughter was born, she made her first trip to WF at about a week old. We got to know the cashiers and staff so well that they anticipated her birth as much as we did! They loved watching her grow, and then seeing her baby brother join the family as we upgraded to the “kid” shopping carts! They both have about 5 Kids Club cards and love using them upon each visit.
As our daughter got older and we began homeschooling her, WF provided a plethora of learning opportunities. From learning about pounds & ounces as she weighed fruits & veggies, to learning about new foods & ingredients, to people skills. Each visit I let the children pick out their own fruit or vegetable, hopefully a new one they’ve never tried!
When our son was born, we had some health concerns so one day I went to WF just to shop and clear my head and who should drive up at the exact moment as me, my midwife of course! I couldn’t believe the chance. We chatted inside the store as we shopped and she gave me some great advice.
Now, we often go to WF as family outings…shopping then eating there together. You can almost always find us there after Church on Sundays. My husband and I laugh because it seems like on date nights, we always somehow end up at WF. When we can’t decide where to eat, we always end up eating at WF. In fact, we usually drive back to the old WF that we first started going to when we first got married because it brings back so many wonderful memories, especially the memories of bringing our new baby girl there and walking her there in her little stroller.
This past weekend we went to Austin for Memorial Day. We were looking for a playground for the kids to play on but couldn’t find one. We went to the original Whole Foods, of course, to eat lunch and found the rooftop playground. We ended up staying for 2 hours! My husband said, “Well, we could just spend the whole day here, here’s the playground we were looking for!.” It cracks me up that so many of our family memories are centered around WF but we love it. It’s the most amazing store ever. And as my husband said as we were sitting on the roof, enjoying the breeze and awesome food, “This is an example of a good company that went great.” I couldn’t agree more.
June 2nd, 2010 at 10:56 pm
i was on my way home with a friend of my daughters in the car, and for some reason we were both in pj’s. living in oakland, we both thought it would be okay to make a quick stop at whole foods as we approached. into the produce section we wandered, feeling a little shy (we were in our pj’s after all). I saw this amazing pile of red onions, my favorite, and as i picked one from the pile, hundreds of onions came crashing down onto the floor, rolling every which way. inconspicuous? ya right. all eyes were on us. we ran scrambling after each and every one, feeling just awful. we were comforted by a worker who assured us that everything would be fine. i vowed to never wear my pj’s out doors… even in oakland.
June 2nd, 2010 at 11:27 pm
My favorite Whole Foods moments involve holding my grocery bag with one hand whilst conducting awkward small talk with my homeless acquaintance Howard.
June 2nd, 2010 at 11:53 pm
The First Time I ever stepped inside a Whole Foods Market was in 2004. It was the one on Colorado Blvd.in Denver, Colorado. I couldnt believe my eyes at all the fresh fruits and veggies, plus little containers so you can Try before you Buy. Then I started walking around and was amazed at everything, plus the cosmetic’s and vitamins and the bins of organic to candy to even gum. I was surprised of the fish market, cheese shop, and pastries, had never in my life been in a grocery store like that. My biggest fear was going up to customer service and asking them “”Do You Take Food Stamp Cards”", and when she said We Sure DO!! I knew I would be shopping at this store every other month, Until the day they put one closer to me, in Tamarac Area and now I shop there. Plus that one is Really Big.
Anyhow I like to get the weekly ads sent to me thru email and I Love your Tuna Salad Sandwich with Cranberry’s inside.. Its so good. I love your shop and would love to see the New One in Austin. I have never even been to Texas before, Except to fly into the airport get off the plane and get on the next plane to Colorado. But now I live in Colorado Permanently and maybe I will win the trip, maybe I wont. But I am keeping my fingers crossed!! Thankyou
June 3rd, 2010 at 12:16 am
My first Whole Foods was a tiny little co-op style Whole Foods in Ann Arbor, MI. It was the mid-90s and my boyfriend and I would stop by on the weekends to spend what little money we had on soup, bread, Dream Bars and other tasty, house-prepared vittles. That little store has long since closed and been replaced by a congemporary mega-Whole Foods, but I wish the original was still around. We loved hanging out at our little hippie market back in the day.
June 3rd, 2010 at 12:33 am
I have been shopping at Whole Foods forever it seems. Here in MA, and when I travel, it’s always good to find a WF. My first visit, my last visit, and all my visits in between…… it’s the same. This is exactly what happens each time I am in the WF. I always of course push my cart into the produce section, I gather all my veggies – trying new things – tasting – looking – reading – learning – maybe chatting – and as I round the corner to the fish counter, I turn my head and look behind me, like I am looking back on the path I just traveled, sort of in awe, like a sweet immediate memory forms of something amazing that’s just happened and you are not going to forget it. The feeling I get at that moment is one of extreme gratitude, and my mind says, “I am in the market in heaven” – I think of men and women the world over, some looking for clean water to cook a bit of grain to sustain their families and I reflect on where I am standing and I know how absolutely fortunate I am and what a honor and a gift it is to be so blessed to go to WF and have the ways and means to shop here. Each element from educating myself about eating well, to buying the healthy food to bringing it home and preparing it to enjoying it. Yes, folks right there as I make that corner all this happens to me so my favorite visit to WF is each one. Like I said, “EXTREME GRATITUDE”. Thank you.
June 3rd, 2010 at 6:03 am
I use to shop at the Unicorn Market in N. Miami Beach, the market moved to Aventura where I was living, this was back in the early 90’s. Around 1996 Whole Foods bought out Unicorn and started their first store in the South Florida area. I have been shopping at Whole Foods ever since. They have prepared most of my nightly dinners which I find great since my family has their favorite meals so I am able to make everyone happy. I am now living in Boca Raton and once again I am at Whole Foods several times a week where I now live. Whole Foods and I have had almost a 15 year relationship. Happy Birthday Whole Foods!!! Jennifer R
June 3rd, 2010 at 8:00 am
In the late 70’s and early 80’s I lived in New Orleans and was a huge fan and regular at the Whole Food Company. I relocated to Pittsburgh, PA and never found a store that I liked as much until Whole Foods opened in East Liberty. Unfortunatley it is on the opposite side of the city from where I live, but I make the trek at least twice a month to stock up on organic wholesome foods. I am thrilled another Pittsburgh store will soon be opening which will be closer to my home. Keep up the good work and don’t compromise our health or our planet!
June 3rd, 2010 at 8:40 am
I remember when I saw rice-based whipped cream in your isle for the first time about a year ago. My kids had never eaten whipped cream or soy whipped cream because they can’t. Not many moms would shed a tear of joy about finding “whipped cream” in their grocer’s ilse. However, when your kids can’t eat the things every other kid can, the emergence of a true substitute is worthy of a tear of joy!
June 3rd, 2010 at 9:06 am
My first trip to Whole Foods was when the one in my city, Columbus OH, opened. I had heard about them on TV and was super excited to go. I was a little taken aback by the unique smell when I first walked in, but I have learned to love that smell and even look forward to it. I love all the fresh produce and unique foods I can’t get anywhere else. About a year ago my husband got a new job in Charlotte, NC and when we were researching what area to live in, I said I wanted to live near a WF, only to find out there are none in the entire Charlotte area. I cried. I literally cried. I didn’t want to move, but we had to. I cried. Everytime I went shopping in a different grocery store I cried because I couldn’t find what I wanted. Did I mention I was pregnant? That might have had a little to do with all the crying…
Anyway, we found a WF in Winston-Salem and drive an hour and 20 minutes to get there. We make Saturday day trips out of it. And yeah, you guessed it, I cried tears of joy the first time we went (still pregnant). On my little daughter’s first trip, I dressed her in a watermelon outfit (because WF is all about the fresh foods) and I even took pictures to remember the occasion.
I don’t get to go nearly as often as I’d like, but I go every chance I get. Maybe someday there will be a WF here in Charlotte.
I love you Whole Foods Market! Happy Birthday!
June 3rd, 2010 at 9:41 am
Actually, my very first visit to a Whole Foods Market was May 31st, 2010! We do not have a Whole Foods Market in our Champaign, IL area (hint, hint!!). The only ones close to us are in Indiana. So, when we were visiting our son and daughter-in-law over Memorial Day weekend in Indianapolis,IN, I made it my number one destination to get to Carmel, IN. I had been talking about WFM so much that I think our daughter-in-law, Cathey, decided to make it her #1 priority to take me there. When we walked into Whole Foods Market, I was immediately taken back by the amount of items on the well-stocked shelves, the delicious smells from the bakery, the number of very knowledgeable staff, and the whole positive feedback from the people shopping in the store. It was a different world in Whole Foods Market….one where I was right a home in. Our daughter-in-law was so impressed, too, and even purchased several items. To make a long story short, I had a wonderful time on my first visit to Whole Foods Market and I can assure you, it won’t be my last visit! WFM is now my new Favorite Store!
June 3rd, 2010 at 9:52 am
I was surprised, happy, and a little leery when Whole Foods came to town and took over Finast’s store….I never really thought much about organic til then…then I remembered as a little girl my mother and I got most of our fruits and veggies when in season from her Italian mother with no pesticides….Except the grapes were sprayed but Grandpa always said not to eat the skin but to pop the fruit out..ymmm.
I was a little leery due to our budget, but we do it anyway! However, was I ever absolutely delighted and bowled over when we went to our neice’s University of Texas graduation when lo and behold across the street from our motel(a few long blocks or so) was a super, duper Whole Foods! I could have stayed there for hours!
Now you are telling me that is where it all began! How great!
Thanks for the vision guys and for following through…
June 3rd, 2010 at 10:05 am
My mom took me to the first Whole Foods in Austin when it first opened in 1980. I was 5, but I can still remember that store. I remember that dingy building, the hippie staff and the food. She would have me walk up and down the isles, looking at all the food & house products and tell me that this store would change the way the world worked because they focused on “good stuff” for me and the world. I loved running around, and listening to people talk about organic food & farming. There were windchimes & if I was lucky, I got to taste something (usually fruit). I am so glad that WF has continued to change the world!
June 3rd, 2010 at 11:01 am
Around 1980 my beloved grandmother who I called “Mee Mee Sug” (pronounced “shug” as in sugar) lived in Austin, Texas, my home state. At that time I was living in Philadelphia where a friend of mine was the first to bring organic produce to Philly in a small store called “Center Foods”. Mee Mee Sug told me of this great big store, big like a regular supermarket, that had wonderful organic produce, lots of healthy foods and even a place to eat their great prepared foods.
When I went to Austin I could not belive my eyes! It was wonderful. I came back to Philly to tell my friends and we waited for years for Whole Foods Market to come to Philly.
I often think I would love to work for Whole Foods Market in some capacity. I am a classical Hatha yoga and Chi Kung teacher with a history of these health modalities for over thirty-four years. I have eaten organic produce for the same amount of time.
I have the greatest respect for WFM. The integrity of the company is supreme. I so respect all of the charities they either create and/or support. The staff is always friendly and helpful. It is always uplifting to shop there and I applaud that WFM is now 30 years old. Congratulations and keep growing and spreading the enlightening of people on the importance of good food.
June 3rd, 2010 at 11:24 am
One day I bought salmon. The friendly cashier said “Do you want the free items that go along with this?” He even went and got everything for me. We had the best dinner that night. Now I look for those specials and have bought them several times. They are a great deal. I love whole foods. I am so happy we have it in Tulsa Oklahoma and it is so close to my house. I have friends that drive in a long way to shop . Happy Birthday!
June 3rd, 2010 at 11:28 am
Whole foods is responsible for making my transition from Malone,New York to Stevensville, Maryland much easier. To make a long story short, I will suffice to say after being hospitalized with an eating disorder,with a life-threatening body weight I recovered physically but remain very discerning about what foods I will eat. After 48 years in a small northern New York community, life would find me engaged to a Maryland man .My greatest concern was what and how would I eat.I visited Whole foods in Annapolis,MD and was quite relieved by the wonderful selection of fruits and vegetable and meat …I was ecstatic ! My husband to be, knew we had overcome a great obstacle .For seven years My husband and I have faithfully shopped at Whole foods and I have been eating healthy and well~ And also, we plan our travel around where we can shop at whole foods so we have been to stores located in California and Florida and Georgia and North and South Carolina! My visits to my daughter in Dallas are great with a Whole Foods near by!~ Now my son is at Stony Brook Univerisity and a recent visit brought me to the newest Whole Foods!~ He was happy with some great meals! So, I am one of your most loyal faithful customers and I am so grateful for a store that cares about health and offers products to promote wellness!
June 3rd, 2010 at 12:16 pm
To some people, an apple is an apple, but when your trying to impress a guy who asked you to go the grocery store to buy some apples, you want the best. So I went to Whole Foods because I know they have the best produce. I stood there in the produce section overwhelmed because there were so many apples to choose from. One of the team members saw me asked me if I was ok and I said I need the BEST tasting apples and I don’t know which to choose because I don’t know what they all taste like. The team member said, “Well, let’s find out!” He took one of every apple and began to cut them up so we could taste each one of them. (I was worried we would get in trouble or if we were being wasteful but that’s when i learned about your recycling program) After 30 patient minutes and stuffed with apples, we both agree the Fiji tasted great! I never forgot how helpful that person was…and how GREAT Whole Food apples are!
June 3rd, 2010 at 12:53 pm
In my life I aspire to be ever-greener. Now that I’m in college and pay for my own food, I have to opportunity to buy as organic, fair trade-certified and all-natural as I can afford. I have known of Whole Foods for awhile but only “discovered” it as of late. I can honestly say that my first trip to Whole Foods was somewhat of a religious experience. My best friend and I went into the Whole Foods in Chelsea, NY and basically let loose. I felt like a wild animal, running through the store and grabbing everything I could find that tickled my taste buds’ fancy, mouth open. Not only do I love my ability to recycle #5 plastics there (KUDOS!), but it is quite possible to find healthy food for affordable prices, no matter the skeptics’ view of how more healthful food is overwhelmingly expensive and not worth the money. I am amazed by the selection of coffee – I especially loved the array of coffee bean barrels I saw in a store on the Lower East Side – as well as the gelato section. Eating at the buffet exposed me to more alternative grains than I’ve ever heard of and made my tummy happy! I feel that Whole Foods is thoroughly consistent in its green mission, and has made me a more mindful and clean-conscience consumer by providing an awesome resource for a college student’s enviro-eating-mission.
June 3rd, 2010 at 1:30 pm
I love Whole Foods Market. They’ve changed what a grocery means to me, and I look forward to the time I get to spend in their stores. I remember my first time in a Whole Foods store, back in the early 2000’s, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. They had a cramped, busy little market in a strip mall on Washtenaw. I had begun teaching myself to cook, and I was discovering all the places in Ann Arbor to get the ingredients I was learning about in cookbooks – the competition for a person’s grocery dollar has always been pretty fierce I guess, from the “big box” chain stores to quirky ethnic shops, to more upscale “markets” like Merchant of Vino (which Whole Foods was to eventually buy out). At that time, Whole Foods, to me, was just another option to get what I needed. An acquaintance, who happened to be vegetarian (I’m not), worked there and spoke glowingly of the produce, so that inspired my first visit. And wow, the produce was a revelation! There was so much of it. Vibrant with color, and almost bursting from the shelves, everything was bright and fresh, stacked with what looked like careful attention, so that grabbing something required a little forethought – I didn’t want to bring down a wall of spinach, or a stack of celery.
Making one’s way through that “little” store required some patience and strategy, especially with a grocery cart if you dared to use one – it was always crowded with shoppers, and the narrow aisles, loaded with product, meant you sometimes had to back up to let someone through, and even suffer some minor collisions. No big deal, it added to the vibe as far as I was concerned, and I learned to look around a corner before diving in. That store had a “juice bar,” where various vegetable and fruit concoctions were blended per request. It never looked that busy to me, and it obviously took up considerable floor space that, in my mind, (not being a fan of such juices), could’ve been used for other stuff. However, it was, as we came to learn, comprised of a passionate and vocal contingent of juice bar aficionados – typically passionate Whole Foods shoppers. When the store closed the bar, the suggestion board filled up with a respectable number of despairing and even withering complaints of unhappiness and threats of boycott and lost customers – a hue and cry that was to be my first experience of how invested and connected people could become to “their” store.
It was, in hindsight, the beginning of what I call the “Whole Foods Frenzy,” a phenomenon unique to Whole Foods markets, especially now in certain large, very busy stores, and especially during weekend afternoons, whereby everyone seems to be dashing through the store in a kind of passionate fury to get their stuff, eat their lunch, get out the door, and get busy cooking. The shear bounty of the environment seems to charge up the atmosphere like a rock concert where everyone has come to this place for the same reason – to engage their passions and be in the presence of what’s most important to them – food fans in their element, rubbing elbows with others of their kind, and enjoying the show.
But back to that little store in the strip mall. One day there appeared a notice in the window telling everyone the store was moving to a new location. Little did I know that this news would foretell a sea change for Ann Arbor foodies. This new store, again on Washtenaw, but half a mile down the road, in its own new building that was part of an expansive shopping plaza, was, to me, enormous. I’d been in large groceries, but this was fundamentally different. I remember thinking that it was like nothing I’d ever seen, such a complete food vision, and that when they said “moving” they really meant something more like “arriving.” Like a conquering army. Wow. And this store was beautiful. Even from a distance, you knew this place was awesome. It was tall and wide and you could already see the amazing produce through the big glass doors in the front, which, on most days, were open to the sidewalk, with fruits, vegetables, plants, pots, herbs, flowers, and, eventually, even cooks grilling burgers right there outside the store. I still think it’s a little amazing that a store of that size, with that gigantic variety of products, has never lost, in my opinion, its “foodie vibe” and its humanity – you never for a moment, in any Whole Foods Market, feel like you’re being diminished in the presence of corporate indifference and warehouse bottom line. Even if the bottom line has to be part of it, which I know it does. There’s a vision there for you (posted on the walls to read if you want to) and an experience that seems to have nothing to do with faking it, or trying to bamboozle you, or trick you, or sell you something you don’t need or don’t want. I guess it feels like an honest business.
I have to mention the parking. The parking lot is big, but it’s almost always packed; with vehicles often spilling into the surrounding businesses spaces (which I’m sure has caused some issues). It’s crowded and bustling with vehicles and people coming and going. Parking was to become a major part of the Whole Foods Frenzy experience for ever after – you had to get used to it or you wouldn’t survive. You had to be patient and you had to be confident. You had to “believe” that you were going to get a parking spot, and you needed to be ready to pounce when one opened up. While it sounds a little crazy, I’m sure the folks reading this who shop at the busier stores have the same experience. You get used to it, and it doesn’t, like one might expect, result in road rage, or yelling, or screaming. Or obscene gesturing. I think the rock concert analogy is appropriate because you find yourself amongst friends, typically – again, most of whom have come to have a good time and enjoy being there, so folks tend to keep their cool. Anyway, the strategy is to drive very slowly through the lot, circling like a panther, or a wolf, and learning to get a bead on someone coming out of the store or walking towards their vehicle – maybe they’ve parked nearby and you can set up behind them, turn on your blinker, and fend off all comers. Little victories.
Once inside, I’ll never forget it, I felt like I was in another world and about to go on a great adventure. The sounds of the busy street and the busy parking lot vanished, and I found myself immersed in bountiful produce. And flowers. Cool air. Aromas. Smells. Shoppers. Workers. Everything seemingly dedicated to food and drink and the experience of it. This store, I’ve always felt, has THE BEST floor plan and space – it just feels like everything is in the right spot, and where it should be, and every sight line is enjoyable and adds to the experience. The colors and the lights, the height of the ceiling, the windows, where the café area is located, where the prepared foods are, where the wine is, where the check out lanes are placed, everything seems right. As a result, you find yourself drawn through the store almost without having to think about it. Unless you’ve forgotten something, and you have to negotiate your way sort of backwards through the bustling throng of shoppers – then you may find yourself reading aisle markers, or asking for help.
A memory that is still vivid: beckoning beyond the produce section – the sight of gigantic, gleaming, silver-scaled, whole salmon resting majestically on piles of crushed ice out on the main floor, with a chalk board proclaiming their heritage and price. I don’t remember what species of salmon they were, whether they were from the Pacific or the Atlantic – I didn’t know much about buying whole fish back then, let alone about types of salmon. Those fish are long since gone, (as was the display eventually), but to this day I associate those big, beautiful fish with the adventure of Whole Foods. Maybe, in Ann Arbor, it wasn’t feasible to sell fish like that for long, but it was worth trying and it seemed to proclaim, like nothing else, that this place was for REAL. You didn’t just get the fillets here, folks, you got the whole fish if you wanted it. (I apologize to the folks from the east, west and gulf coasts for my Midwestern fascination with fresh whole fish, even though I lived in NYC for a ‘couple years, I can’t get used to it – I know it’s business-as-usual for some lucky foodies).
Still stunned from the vision of the salmon, and the beautiful fish case behind them, with the scallops, the clams, the halibut, the crabs, I could go on and on, I then found myself in front of the biggest meat case I’d ever seen – four or five times bigger than anything I was used to. Nothing wrapped in plastic. Beef shoulders, pork butts, veal shanks, legs-of-lamb, chickens, ground meat, steaks, chops, filets, ribs, again, I could go on and on. I stood there as if I was before the treasures of ancient Egypt, and the cuts of meat were the deeply-colored jewels. The happy butchers were eager to help. Here’s another unforgettable moment: almost on cue, as I stood there sort of dumbstruck, came a hissing sound, followed by a gently cascading fog, a blanketing mist that completely filled the meat case, shrouding the meat behind a mysterious, (at least to me), white curtain. I remember asking a butcher what was going on, and I must have been in a daze, because I can’t remember what he said. Whether that was a gas to help the meat stay fresh looking, to maybe help prevent it from turning gray, I don’t know – maybe it was just water vapor. In any case, it blew me away, and again, I felt I was in a different world, somewhere that cared about food at a level that was new to me, and displayed it, in a way that revealed a passion and a knowledge about it that made my experience so much more than just shopping. It made my life better.
The store just kept going. Another meat case, this time with more obscure items like duck breasts (today, my Houston store sells whole fresh duck, which is great), pork hocks, and my beloved beef shank bones and chicken backs. Milk, eggs, butters, yogurts, and the marvelous cheese department (which has some serious competition on the other side of town from Zingerman’s). Racks and racks of wine. Chocolate. Pastries. Bread – from Whole Foods bakery and also, best of all, some loaves of the almighty Zingerman’s breads, still the best, most flavorful, most crusty breads I’ve ever tasted. Which leads me to the topic of local sourcing, a worthy side trip on this tour:
If Whole Foods is willing to stock their own bread to compete with the greatest bread ever, because Zingerman’s bread is locally produced, and people want it, then that’s both a courageous and truly authentic dedication to the mission of marketing, the local stuff. This commitment to local producers just seems to get more and more relevant. Back then, I didn’t grasp the details, only the general philosophy, which, as the store literature tried to communicate, results in less fossil fuel used to transport food, and supports the local food businesses, often resulting in improved quality, but always resulting in integrating the community. As opposed to rolling in and displacing existing vendors and producers in an effort to dominate the entire vertical and horizontal market place. Today I make a point of looking at the “provenance” or source of meat, fish, cheese and wine, among other things, and I very much appreciate the added info that Whole Foods tags a lot of their stuff with. Even when it ISN’T local, I like to know where it’s from so I can make a choice on whether or not to buy it based on its carbon footprint, as well as the quality of course.
Here in the Houston area, where I live now, my Whole Foods can’t find locally produced pork of sufficient quality, (I know this because I asked them and they told me), so they either don’t stock any pork butt on some days, for example, and I have to do without, or they source Canadian pork. That they’d rather not sell any pork butt at all, versus sell inferior quality, or even worse, pork that is farmed, transported, slaughtered, or otherwise handled without sufficient dedication to animal welfare standards shows me that they put their money where there mouth is – I could go to the local mega-mart and find more fresh pork, vacuum-packed of course, than I could ever dream of – and to me, that’s an important “value-add” or “differentiator” (to use some marketing terms, sorry) that puts Whole Foods in a different league. This is the type of store that teaches me how to be a more responsible food buyer. And cook. And citizen. Now if we’re talking about beef, then Whole Foods in Texas DOES have that, all the time. I have my choice of local grass-fed beef, clearly identified in the meat cases, or local grain-finished. (They even supply post card biographies of their local beef farmers so you can learn more about them – I contacted Bandera and started an email conversation with the owner to learn more about the Grassfed Alliance).
I need to say something more about animal welfare, an issue that is very important to me. I’m, obviously, a meat eater, but I want to know that what I’m eating comes from animals that were humanely farmed, transported and slaughtered – I want a clear conscience about enjoying something that an animal had to die to provide. I’ve done my own independent research on animal welfare, and I was happy to learn that Whole Foods has been on the leading edge of establishing animal welfare standards, following the lead of pioneers like Dr. Temple Grandin. Margaret Wittenberg, Whole Foods Global VP of Quality Standards & Public Affairs, helped establish the Animal Compassion Foundation, created by Whole Foods in 2005 as a private non-profit, and that organization transitioned in 2008 into the Global Animal Partnership, a foundation independent of the company, that promotes a multi-tiered animal welfare ranking system. This ranking system evaluates the way animals are raised for meat throughout the world, and hopefully, as the program grows, it can have the global impact that it seeks. (I need to thank Carijane Grigsby-Etter, Whole Foods Global Customer Information Specialist, for some of the above info). In the meantime, Whole Foods promotes (and labels) beef that is Animal Welfare Approved (AWA) – another animal welfare standards organization that is dedicated to the cause. I’ve quizzed the folks in customer service about animal welfare standards, and, even though it’s not a front-and-center issue, at least not yet, they did well to provide the information I needed.
Back to the food at that big store in Ann Arbor. Needless to say for anyone who’s familiar with Whole Foods, they put a lot of effort into prepared foods – everything from fresh-baked pizzas to pasta salads, soups, sandwiches, sushi and of course desserts. This part of the store is truly fun and a great way to pick up a quick lunch, which you can eat right there in the store (this was a new concept back then, at least on such a large scale), or a quick dinner. I never cease to be amazed by the volume of folks who seem to visit Whole Foods just for the prepared food. On to the frozen foods section, which is very large. I don’t buy a lot of frozen food, but if you need a frozen pizza, you can get one. Or frozen fruit and vegetables – perfect when strawberries or corn is out of season and you just have to have them. And, if you look closely, or ask for help, you will discover the frozen fish stock, which I never seem to get around to making myself, and ice cream and even another treat from Zingerman’s – gelato.
The last section of this amazing store is something I’ve never fully investigated – it’s huge and always seems to be growing – the Whole Body department, which has everything from fish oil and vitamins to body lotion and laundry detergent. All organic or environmentally conscious of course. You can even buy a book or a magazine.
That’s quite a trip down memory lane, and now Ann Arbor has another large store, which ended up being a little closer to my house there. But, by that time, my wife and I had developed a way to connect our love of Whole Foods with our love of urban hiking, so we used to make a day of it and hike from our house across town to Whole Foods on Washtenaw, eat lunch outside the market (we usually had our dog with us), do our shopping, load up our backpacks, then hike back home – a twelve mile round trip. We were just getting used to the new Whole Foods on Eisenhower, when we relocated to Houston for my job. The job ultimately didn’t work out, and we really miss our old Whole Foods on Washtenaw. We’re going to visit Ann Arbor this month for a bacon-lovers event put on by Zingerman’s, and we’ll be sure to visit our favorite Foods Market again.
In the meantime, our favorite Houston Whole Foods Market is on Bellaire. We used to go to the one on Kirby, but the Whole Foods Frenzy there, along with the parking, can sometimes get a little challenging, and, since we have an option, we take the road that’s a little less travelled. And the Bellaire store has 20% off wine every Sunday! I can’t tell you how many other grocers we pass on our 30-mile drive to this store – we can’t hike like we did in Ann Arbor, Houston is a car-town unfortunately, but the selection, quality, values, and integrity that Whole Foods provides makes it worth the trip every time.
Looking back, Whole Foods has changed so many things about the way I shop and what I eat. And it seems to have affected how everyone else shops too. Big-box stores like Wal-Mart have established organic food sections, old competitors like Kroger, HEB, Busch’s, etc. continue to try to ramp up their quality and improve their offerings, and small grocers and farmers markets continue to multiply. It all seems to me to have been influenced, if not completely, at least significantly, by the success of Whole Foods and the totally “jammy” (to borrow the British term) shopping experience you can get there – here’s to another thirty years!
June 3rd, 2010 at 3:41 pm
Ah! That Purple Store! A dream come true for us..we foot soldiers in organic
growing and herbs. Weekends it was made into a informal party with people
meeting and exchanging ideas…remember, we have been exposed to an area, of
buying food, as though, the clerks have been sucking on lemons all day.
Remember Jim Hightower in this, who allowed Farmers Markets, of which,
even pick up trucks with there produce were not allowed..Talk about control.
Jim Hightower was State Agriculture Head and his attempt must be mentioned,
along with John Mackey..who, indeed, is a genius in this area..of changing the whole
area of Austin, Texas, USA and then Europe. Things we foot soldiers only dreamed about.
I appreciate Whole Foods support of my endeavor and I have had in early times, some
of their clerks in my lectures in herbs….also they bought some of my items for
resale.
I was an early Martha Stewart but knew the price that would have to be paid, if I
ventured beyond what I did. My family in tact was important to me but I did change
a lot of young lives with my input also got the Herb Bar set up …along with Ms.
Moore’s Garden in that time frame, which paid for some of my restoration on
our historical property.
I am distressed that the government does not honor John Mackey for what he
as done for our Nation for Preventive Health and exciting ventures in good eating.
But politicians do not have that creative insight, right?
Not only High Tech changed Austin, of which, was always beautiful but a Civil
Service mentality is just that…and I laud Whole Foods enterprise in this area for
the change of slim people, embracing all cultures…that feel is comfortable now in this
area of Austin…and even though the copy cats can be annoying….that is life of
an original..
Nor have I lost sight of what was done by Whole Foods in Washington, D.C. Ghetto area,
nor the foods donated to schools in that area that are wholesome!
So that is that…on my WHOLE FOODS AREA OF SUPPORT..How about that, people?
No! NO! I am too tired to shine John Mackey’s halo…enough is enough!
June 3rd, 2010 at 7:29 pm
My husband came home, took my hand and told me I had to see the new Whole Foods new our home in Oakland, CA. His words, “it’s a destination attraction”.
We asked our favorite Japanese restaurant over and over for brown sushi rice. While we’re buying sushi at Whole Foods, the owner of the Japanese restaurant is probably wondering why he never sees us.
We buy a lot more than sushi at Whole Foods, but, Whole Foods is best! Happy 30th.
June 3rd, 2010 at 8:09 pm
I remember oh so fondly the Sweet Dreams ice cream parlour at the old Whole Foods on Shepherd and West Alabama in Houston. Whenever I used to go visit my brother, who was a Whole Foods employee, I used to challange the manager to make me the best chocolate shake I had ever tasted. I think the hint of cinnamon ice cream added to the chocolate ice cream was my very favorite by far. Oh how I miss Sweet Dreams.
June 3rd, 2010 at 8:20 pm
Walking into the new Chicago Lincoln Park store in May 2009 – like two kids in a candy store!
June 4th, 2010 at 7:10 pm
The first time I went to Whole Foods, it was early spring and I needed some berries for a dinner I was making. They didn’t have any berries at the other local grocery store. I had heard about Whole Foods and thought I would pop in to see if they had anything. As I was walking through the produce looking lost, a team member, Bo, came up and asked me if I needed any help. I told him it was the first time I was in the store. He dropped what he was doing and took me on a 30minute tour of the store and explained all about the Whole Foods philosophy. That was it… My fiance and I were hooked and we’ve never looked back since. It has truly changed our lives. Happy birthday, Whole Foods! We love you.
June 5th, 2010 at 8:03 am
Way back when in the early 90’s I moved from bustling Miami to a very tiny and not quite established Killeen, TX. When I discovered Whole Foods in Austin I was home again! Finally, someone understood me when I asked where I could find the homeopathy!That monthly trip down to Whole Foods was my salvation!
June 5th, 2010 at 9:33 am
One of my first visits was in the early 80’s to the original store to buy some fresh peaches. I saw a guy there stocking cellophane bags of chips on the shelves. He looked familiar. It was Doug Foreman. He had been a bartender at the original Night Hawk restaurant that I managed. He had just finished sticking the labels on the bags at home. The product was new- baked corn chips. He and his Dad felt guilty about eating chips and salsa all the time and gaining weight. He learned how to bake chips and persuaded Whole Foods to try it out. He called his new venture Guiltless Gourmet. Whole Foods is still making good decisions.
June 5th, 2010 at 3:51 pm
Whole Foods opened up on Newport and 1st in Tustin and was also at La Jolla.
The WF at Tustin had this tofu cooked in some kind of sauce and a person could buy it in a little clear plastic box in ready to go foods.
Also their bread products that they baked there were outstanding (can’t say that for Wilmington SLC UT- usually not fresh and hard)
Also their ready to go foods (not in the deli) but by the weight were outstanding -used to buy the variety all the time.
Then, I moved to UT – no WF only Wild Oats, but luckily for everyone here, WO was bought out by WF.
I frequent WF weekly. However, WF here, is not like Tustin or La Jolla.
June 5th, 2010 at 4:23 pm
I had heard about how fabulous Whole Foods was from others in Northern Virginia and I thought as I continued to seek a more organic and holistic lifestyle how wonderful that would be to have something at least similar nearby. And, to have something convenient!
Well, to have a Whole Foods Market in lil’ country ole’ Short Pump, Va.!!!! Not only was that an answer to my prayers, but also added a bit of “cosmo” to the area. It’s about time! I am totally addicted to the market! My first visit and every visit has been like going to Disneyland!
My status on Facebook actually was “I would like to elevate my relationship with Whole Foods Market to a higher level. I wonder if he notices. I’m stalking him!” You’re everything I’m looking for in a successful relationship! Clean, visually appealing, a sense of humor, great cook, socially savvy, considerate, colorful, honest, have integrity, a sense of character, always hospitable, have the most wonderful items to eat that are healthy for you, popular, a sense of style and hope for the local supplyers and you don’t hang out too late.
Can I crash at your place?
Thank you Whole Foods!
June 14th, 2010 at 3:19 pm
My store does it all right The Bethesda store is just great and I love it!!!! Happy Birthday!!!! Keep going the way you are with new and exciting ideas which is so great and never boring!!!!
June 22nd, 2010 at 2:58 am
Having grown up in Wheeling, W.Va and loving country music and always wanting to visit Austin, Texas, I’ve also been the biggest fan of Whole Foods Markets and natural foods in the whole world. I followed the Pritikin program and was a competitive distance runner and marathoner throughout the 1980′ and 1990’s & started shopping at Whole Foods in the early 1980’s when I relocated to the Washington and Baltimore area. And, a trip to Austin to join in Whole Foods Birthday celebration would be a perfect present since my 54th birthday is September 20, 2010. Let’s celebrate together!! Love Dave
June 22nd, 2010 at 3:33 pm
Who won the contest? I wrote something but didn’t see it.jasmine
July 21st, 2010 at 11:57 pm
It is the store of international culinary and gourmet foods, only the best. Whenever we are doing a big dinner for family and friends, your store fits all our needs. Only the best and that is what we love about you as we would only cook the best for our friends and family and as a store you also provide the same for customers. Never ever have been disappointed with the results. My son has been teaching me better healthier eating habits for my arthritis. I quit eating sweets because it is not healthy and one of the leading causes of inflammation. Will he also shops at Whole Foods in Richardson. For Mothers Day he brought me 2 packages of Hail Merry Choc. Muffins. OMG I was so impressed and amazed that it was organic and raw. I use to be a big fan of Godiva Chocolates not anymore. I went on FB the next day and bragged to all my family and friends. Healthy and a great taste which you can only by at the one and only Whole Foods. The biggest assortment of wines too. Love ya, Love ya, Love ya that is all I have to say. Thank you for making me happy.
August 5th, 2010 at 7:40 pm
Enjoyed your thanksgiving feast last year….could you please send a menu via my email
November 19th, 2010 at 6:04 am
You can find the complete holiday menu for your store by clicking this link!
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/shop/index.php
November 19th, 2010 at 6:05 am
I was a big fan of Whole Foods when it was still small and located in Tustin (old town) area. It gave me the “family” feeling and I loved it. The new big one in Tustin District is not the same. It’s too huge/too corporate and I missed the familiar faces. I still shop there from time to time only because it has a huge selection of health foods and products; and most of the people are still friedly and helpful.
December 29th, 2010 at 6:55 pm
i remember when the two of Austin’s “natural food” stores, one uphill and one down, both places where I shopped, united to form a “grocery store.” amazing thought. a good friend worked the produce department at the new store and the attention given to both the freshness and the aesthetics of presentation of food for purchase was notable. As were the employer/employee relationships. And a trip to the store was always a social experience. Another memory – the flood on Lamar and the help given to WFM by loyal customers in cleaning up and getting it back on its feet, a testament to its value to the community. Now I’m glad to have the stores in Baltimore and glad that the ethic of community involvement is strong in our local WFM stores.
December 29th, 2010 at 7:40 pm
My first experience at Whole Foods Market was at the original store at 10th & Lamar in Austin, Texas in 1982. Previous to WFM I used to shop small bulk food stores and coops. I was amazed as I walked in past Martin Bros. and was confronted by shelves of beer. Turning the corner there were bins of coffee beans along the wall near the cashiers. Passing through the “normal” health and beauty aid section I found lots of incredible cheeses. Then to the right of those was a meat counter. You’ve got to be kidding! I though this was a natural foods store – with meat and coffee and beer? Oh my! Then I realized Whole Foods was not a natural foods store but a real grocery store that carried healthy, natural foods … and more!
December 29th, 2010 at 9:49 pm
Happy (belated) Birthday! I started shopping at Whole Foods, Montgomeryville, PA, way back when it was called Fresh Fields. I was truly amazed at the wide variety of offerings, and I was not alone. The demeanor of the other shoppers was unusual. I remember that people seemed to be strolling, more than shopping. They always seemed to be just as intrigued as I was. And it was lovely to be able to sample new and unusual things, before buying them. Now that I have more demands on my time than ever before, I’ve turned to Whole Foods for prepared foods for my holiday meals. What a godsend! Thank you!
December 29th, 2010 at 10:47 pm
My first visit to Whole Foods started with my first visit to Alfalfa’s in Boulder, CO. I was having great difficulties with food allergies and finding foods I could eat and I though I’d died and gone to heaven. By the time Whole Foods was opened in my city, the problems were somewhat the same except I needed to know where to get what I needed here in town. Whole Foods opened and I was ecstatic. I must have spent an hour and a half or more the first time just walking the aisles saying, “Oh, my God, I can get … THAT here?” it was divine.
M
December 30th, 2010 at 7:45 pm
I first started shopping at the Whole Foods on Esplanade Avenue in New Orleans, in the mid 80’s. I moved to Houston, TX and shopped at the old store on Shepard (now closed) and then in the new store on Alabama. I now live in Dallas, and bought a condo a mile from the store on Lemmon Avenue. I also shopped at the Dallas Greenville Avenue store before it closed.
Whole Foods helped to open my mind to herbal remedies (for people and pets!), organic foods, makeup,and toiletries, holistic healing, great wine and beer tastings, and upbeat employees. I met my masseur in Houston when I got a chair massage from him. It is actually fun to shop there, sample the different food and drink, and check out the new and sale items. I plan to work there part time when I retire.
Keep on truckin’!!!
January 3rd, 2011 at 11:01 am
I hope someone may remember. I lived in South Beach, Florida back in 1999-2006 and shopped in the Wild Oats Market on 10th and Alton (before it became a Whole Foods). I used to purchase a great snack in the self serve grains department. In a bin dispenser there was a type of popcorn that was crispy similar to the kernels of pop corn that do not pop but are still crispy to eat. The kernels were about the size of the popcorn kernels after the being going through popping process. The entire kernel was crispy and was a light brown color. I do not remember the name of the kernels and I assume that it was maize but I cannot be sure. If anyone can remember what I have described here please let me know. Thanks!
January 16th, 2012 at 12:29 am