Decatur Brought Up in Natural Grocery Store Buzz
Decatur Metro | April 2, 2013
You may recall our mention of the Atlanta Business Chronicle article from a couple of weeks back that reported on Sprouts Farmer’s Markets coming to Atlanta soon.
Well Carl points out that another recent ABC article (mostly behind a paywall) that notes that Earth Fare out of North Carolina is also scouting out the Atlanta market and looking for locations. And this time Decatur is mentioned specifically. Not by the company, but by a local commercial real estate broker, Amy Fingerhut.
Decatur is also ripe for more grocery options, Fingerhut said.
The article goes on to posit that the coming mixed-use development of the Callaway Building site is one potential option.
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Decatur is literally surrounded with grocery stores with one splat in the middle. Not to mention 2 weekly farmer’s markets and YDFM just a short drive away. What more options do you need?
I want just enough more grocery stores to open to get people to stop whining about not having a crappy Trader Joe’s.
Seriously.
Some of use don’t shop at YDFM because of the way they treat employees. No insurance and low wages.
They are also made to stand in long lines, elbow their way through the aisles to move about the store, and park far away from the entrance.
Oh wait, those are the customers!
And the smell…..
There’s also something of a “soup nazi” mentality about YDFM that turns me off, especially how you were made to feel like a criminal if you had the temerity to bring in reuseable bags a couple of years ago. Even now, those bags better be in plain sight!
Security first. Just can’t take a chance that those reusable bags might be used to conceal and shoplift bunches of kale, 5 lb bags of onions, and/or entire watermelons. At least the durians have natural theft deterrence: they are abrasive to handle and smell like garbage.
How low are the wages? And how do you find out what benefits various employers provide? I’m not challenging you, I’m just curious and trying to think of a practical way to incorporate that consideration into my consumer choices in a more consistent way. I ask somewhat reluctantly. I don’t like to think about YDFM exploiting their employees. On the other hand, I have found over and over that produce bought there stays fresher longer than what I get at Publix or Kroger. And for most things, I can buy the quantity I want for one person. (Stealth is required among the bananas.) My travels rarely take me near a Trader Joe’s and I’ve never found their produce selection very impressive; also rarely go near a Whole Foods and when I do, am appalled at the prices. (I realize WF has competitive prices on many specific items, but it’s been my experience that any visit there results in spending far more than I intended and far more than I would have spent anywhere else for the same amount of sustenance.)
Publix will pretty happily break up packages of produce, meat, and baked goods for you. I pretty regularly will buy just two kaiser rolls, for example.
Need isn’t the only driver of commerce. Want is perhaps even a more powerful force.
If it was all “need” we’d only buy toilet paper, bread, and roofing materials.
Re: “toilet paper, bread, and roofing materials”
Just don’t mix them up.
Indeed!
My cats would like a word with you.
They can haz kitty litter?
I loved the Earth Fare in Athens. The big draw for a time-strapped student was the prepared items/salad bar. YDFM has this, but it’s too much of a hassle to run in there to the buffet to grab dinner. It would be nice to be able to do so and pick up a few groceries at the same time. And I found it so much friendlier than Whole Paycheck…
Never been to Earth Fare, but that sounds a lot like Harry’s In A Hurry.
Yep. As I recall it, it was kind of like a love child of Whole Paycheck and Harry’s. The Asheville heritage definitely came through– it had a great vibe and great soup and salad to boot.
In the last town I lived in, they had an awesome small chain that sort of did what YDFM did, but on a small, user friendly scale. They had great produce, lots of local products (including bread by the local equivalent of H&F), and a small deli counter. That was it. There were enough of them that each little neighborhood had their own, but not so many that it didn’t feel locally owned and operated.
I could swear up and down that we had something similar in Atlanta when I was growing up. I remember one in Sandy Springs before it became the crazy suburban nightmare it is now.
My point being that if we had one in Decatur, it would do really well.
We had one of those here, too. And it DID do REALLY WELL. It was called the DeKalb Farmer’s Market. I guess it’s now just a victim of its own success
Beth, not thinking of Ogletree’s are you? We had that and Happy Herman’s, but I dont recall any others in Sandy Springs/Dunwoody in the 80s…
No, much more downscale than that. It was the 1970s, and it was on Roswell Rd. I think they followed the Atlanta tradition of calling themselves a farmers market even though they were a store.
Beth – exactly – there is a need for the smaller. As I said, I love YDFM but it is a massive place and there is not always everything that is needed from a groecery store etc.
The story doesn’t mention that Earth Fare was started in Asheville, specifically. So this could strengthen our ties to that funky little spot. BTW – what ever happened to that Tupelo Honey opening here idea?
Isn’t that where they’ll put all the tea in China in a big brown bag for you?
You crack me up, Funny Man. (Am I the last to figure out those initials?)
Well, you can bet it ain’t Farmer’s Market.
And thank you, smalltowngal. You’re an angel of the first degree.
Actually, with the density in Decatur, there are limited options for grocery with only Kroger and Publix. There are no specialty grocers within over a 5 mile radius of Downtwon Decatur which is what this is referring too. Within 3 miles, there are over 100,000 people and only a small older Publix and very old Kroger. No, Fresh MArket, trader Joes, Whole Foods etc. People want options. I shop YDFM every weekend but you cannot buy everything there that a grocery store sells.
Not sure if you count it as a specialty grocer, but there is a Whole Foods within five miles of downtown Decatur, though it barely is.
What about Rainbow? Patel (bargain produce)? And I hate to mention it, but the Walmart grocery at the old Avondale mall site certainly isn’t give miles away. And there’s also the Cinese grocery on Ponce that must be paying off the health inspector to stay in business…
Not a specialty grocer, but there is the Aldi near the Memorial Walmart – good prices.
Went to Aldi once & was NOT impressed. Kinda scared me, actually, so I won’t go back. The time I went, I didn’t see any organic options. I guess I was expecting more of a TJ experience, so I was very disappointed in the choices. But, if price is your primary goal, I guess Aldi would fit that bill. For me, I’d chose YDFM over Aldi any day!
The presentation (mini-warehouse) is off-putting, for sure. You may want to try Aldi again, however – they carry organic produce now….
Love Earth Fare! Decatur really needs a nicer, gourmet grocery store!
The Earth Fare in Athens is, in many ways, even more unnecessarily expensive than Whole Paycheck is. Totally unjustified prices, they make me gasp whenever I go in. The last thing Decatur needs is a place that only the upper-middle-class can afford to use.
You are missing out if you have not tried Aldi’s on Memorial Drive. Friendly staff, great prices, excellent fresh produce specials. Fair trade coffee for $3.99 bag, real German chocolate incredibly cheap. They are the parent company of Trader Joe’s.