all Whole Foods are not created equal

This past weekend we stayed at Spring and Orlando's place in Austin. So we wouldn't eat them out of newlywed house and home, Saturday morning I ran up to WFM on Lamar and 6th to grab some choc Silk, coffee, milk, cinnamon rolls, yogurt, bananas and a croissant . That place was un freaking believable. Even still half asleep, it was obvious this location must be the most beautiful feather in the natural foods store giant's cap. I mean, c'mon, it has an escalator! This Whole Foods has to be on dope!

Sometimes when I have an open evening at home, I'll head out to Target unescorted, just to tool around and dilly dally, without having my shirt pulled on or being harangued for every sample being offered. Alone, I can lolly gag in the deodorant isle, salivate over the Egyptian cotton sheets and generally waste time any way I see fit. After all, Target is open until 10:00. Whoop it up!


The Whole Foods experience I had last weekend has entirely blown recent Target adventures out of the water. I could have spent hours there, comparing all the fancy varieties of tomatoes, sampling fresh bakery goodies, moving from coffee bar to perfume counter to gelato stand. This behemoth has it all and then some. Way more than I needed, definitely more than I could afford and probably a little more than I was comfortable with. But still, my eyeballs went wild and I regretted not having the time to take a full inventory of their wares.

Many years ago when I actually lived on 6th street and didn't know how cool that was because I was (am) such a hugeastic nerd, my roommates and I would occasionally go down to the original WFM on Lamar, north of the current BGH injected incarnation, and stock up on a few favorites. We didn't go all that often because of our pretty tight grocery budget, but they did have the very best four layer, cream cheese frosting carrot cake and pretty good raspberry granola, so we "splurged" every now and then.

I remember seeing photos up in the store of the Shoal Creek flood. Can't remember when it happened, probably late 70's or early 80's. Anyhow, the pics showed half full boxes of produce floating through the isles, cash registers nearly covered in water, shelves knocked over and general destruction. I'm fairly sure that at the time, the Lamar location was the only WFM around. It was pretty understated and very small, but had most of what you'd expect to find at a natural foods store. It was compact, modest, efficient and low profile. Its customers definitely sported hairy pits and wore Birks. Wheatsville Co-op on Guadalupe feels to me now like the old WFM did back then.

Austin's exploding population and ever expanding suburbia has definitely reshaped the town on many levels. At the same time, a new, "hipper" generation of students means a different face on The Drag. Relics like Yarings, the original Quack's, Varsity Theatre, Hastings and Mad Dogs are long gone, and some of the tenants who took their places have since fallen from grace as well. Ahhh, it would be really neat if Steve's Ice Cream and Martin Brothers Cafe were still around. The Union still smells the same and the Grackle poop is as ubiquitous as it ever was. Small favors.


The new-mega-deluxe-ADD-super-wowser Whole Foods is truly a spectacle to behold. I can still afford only about half a basket of groceries, and we're talking conventional produce, not organic. Sure, having 137 varieties of olives is impressive; I just don't need that much choice. It would have been so cool if the corporate office way back when could have found it in their hearts and budget to keep the original one around. When I scanned the cakes in the bakery last weekend, the carrot cake was only three layers, not four. Can't tell me new is better.