While on our way from Richmond to pick up a relative at Dulles who had
been overseas, we stopped at the Whole Foods just north of I-66 on
Fairfax County Parkway to take a peek.

Imagine our surprise to find that better produce than one can get in
Richmond is cheaper at WF. I'd been to other WFs in various parts of
the country (including Austin, WF's home base). Granted, one can drop
a lot of cash on the fancy high-end stuff, but normal, everyday
groceries, were reasonably priced.. or at least, no more expensive
than even Food Dog. I really don't like paying a buck a pound for
onions.. and why do people pay extra for peeled onions? Crazy.

T.

tbs48 said...

> While on our way from Richmond to pick up a relative at Dulles who had
> been overseas, we stopped at the Whole Foods just north of I-66 on
> Fairfax County Parkway to take a peek.
>
> Imagine our surprise to find that better produce than one can get in
> Richmond is cheaper at WF. I'd been to other WFs in various parts of
> the country (including Austin, WF's home base). Granted, one can drop
> a lot of cash on the fancy high-end stuff, but normal, everyday
> groceries, were reasonably priced.. or at least, no more expensive
> than even Food Dog. I really don't like paying a buck a pound for
> onions.. and why do people pay extra for peeled onions? Crazy.
>
> T.


I've never heard of Ukrop or Food Dog. Are they nicknames given them by
locals?

Produce at the WF near Philly, while first rate is also way overpriced!
Must have something to do with the supply chains?

--
Andy
Three Stooges in One
CotD #2

On Aug 8, 11:36 am, Andy <q> wrote:
> tbs48 said...
>
> > While on our way from Richmond to pick up a relative at Dulles who had
> > been overseas, we stopped at the Whole Foods just north of I-66 on
> > Fairfax County Parkway to take a peek.
>
> > Imagine our surprise to find that better produce than one can get in
> > Richmond is cheaper at WF. I'd been to other WFs in various parts of
> > the country (including Austin, WF's home base). Granted, one can drop
> > a lot of cash on the fancy high-end stuff, but normal, everyday
> > groceries, were reasonably priced.. or at least, no more expensive
> > than even Food Dog. I really don't like paying a buck a pound for
> > onions.. and why do people pay extra for peeled onions? Crazy.
>
> > T.
>
> I've never heard of Ukrop or Food Dog. Are they nicknames given them by
> locals?

Ukrop is a Richmond area chain owned by a local Baptist family.. they
don't sell wine or beer; nor are they open on Sunday.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrop%27s_Super_Market

(note that the wiki says the entry is written like an advertisement)


Food Dog = Food Lion (owned by Belgians, I seem to recall).

>
> Produce at the WF near Philly, while first rate is also way overpriced!
> Must have something to do with the supply chains?

Huh. Richmond is at the end of produce chains I'd bet, but there are
distributors (RichFood/FoodClub) of canned & dairy in the Richmond
area..

T.

On Wed, 08 Aug 2007 08:23:01 -0700, tbs48 > wrote:
>
>Imagine our surprise to find that better produce than one can get in
>Richmond is cheaper at WF.

When I was in Richmond this past spring I was just blown away by the
prices of produce and other stuff there. I know Ukrops is praised in
that area, and it sorta runs the show there... But the quality isn't
that great for a lot of things, the selection was more limited and the
prices were outa sight. I was in shock.

Guess I have been living out west too long. Even two states away from
the west coast in NM, the cost is way lower than in Richmond. There is
more variety, and the selection is better. The farther west you go,
it gets even better!

Here, WF prices are higher than the other stores....

I think a lot of folks in the Richmond area are just used to the
higher prices and the limited variety. And while Ukrops does have
good service, a lot of things in that store are just mediocre.

Christine

On Wed, 08 Aug 2007 10:36:15 -0500, Andy <q> wrote:


>I've never heard of Ukrop or Food Dog. Are they nicknames given them by
>locals?

He means Ukrops, which is a local chain, and Food Lion.

Christine

On Wed, 08 Aug 2007 10:18:51 -0600, Christine Dabney
> wrote:

>On Wed, 08 Aug 2007 08:23:01 -0700, tbs48 > wrote:
>>
>>Imagine our surprise to find that better produce than one can get in
>>Richmond is cheaper at WF.
>
>When I was in Richmond this past spring I was just blown away by the
>prices of produce and other stuff there. I know Ukrops is praised in
>that area, and it sorta runs the show there... But the quality isn't
>that great for a lot of things, the selection was more limited and the
>prices were outa sight. I was in shock.
>
>Guess I have been living out west too long. Even two states away from
>the west coast in NM, the cost is way lower than in Richmond. There is
>more variety, and the selection is better. The farther west you go,
>it gets even better!
>
>Here, WF prices are higher than the other stores....
>
>I think a lot of folks in the Richmond area are just used to the
>higher prices and the limited variety. And while Ukrops does have
>good service, a lot of things in that store are just mediocre.
>
>Christine

Ukrop's can keep the grocery, here in Florida Publix beats them, but I
wish we had Ukrop's deli, and I wish we could get White House rolls.

On Aug 8, 12:46 pm, Steve Wertz > wrote:
> On Wed, 08 Aug 2007 08:23:01 -0700, tbs48 wrote:
> > Imagine our surprise to find that better produce than one can get in
> > Richmond is cheaper at WF. I'd been to other WFs in various parts of
> > the country (including Austin, WF's home base). Granted, one can drop
> > a lot of cash on the fancy high-end stuff, but normal, everyday
> > groceries, were reasonably priced.. or at least, no more expensive
> > than even Food Dog. I really don't like paying a buck a pound for
> > onions.. and why do people pay extra for peeled onions? Crazy.
>
> The one in Austin is the most expensive store I've seen outside
> of Northern California.
>
> I suspect WF is guilty of predatory pricing in several markets.
> Lord knows their more expensive (regular) stores can support the
> loss-leader stores until they can drive out the competition and
> raise the prices.

I would think that after reading Motorblade's account of the London,
UK WF (in austin.food) that one would be the most expensive..

T.

On Aug 8, 12:48 pm, raymond > wrote:
>
> Ukrop's can keep the grocery, here in Florida Publix beats them, but I
> wish we had Ukrop's deli, and I wish we could get White House rolls.-

Ugh. Their deli pre-packaged meals are dreadful.

(If you are talking about cold cuts as deli, Wisconsin/Chicago has
much better deli..)

My brother thought Florida was awful, too.

T

On Wed, 08 Aug 2007 09:54:49 -0700, tbs48 > wrote:

>On Aug 8, 12:48 pm, raymond > wrote:
>>
>> Ukrop's can keep the grocery, here in Florida Publix beats them, but I
>> wish we had Ukrop's deli, and I wish we could get White House rolls.-
>
>Ugh. Their deli pre-packaged meals are dreadful.

Yeah, but their deli's still better than ours. There's not a decent
take home salad bar in the state.

>
>(If you are talking about cold cuts as deli, Wisconsin/Chicago has
>much better deli..)
>
>My brother thought Florida was awful, too.

I agree, but it's all we have. We moved here from Texas, and we'll
never have an HEB.

>
>T

On Aug 8, 9:46?am, Steve Wertz wrote:

> The one [WF] in Austin is the most expensive store
> I've seen outside of Northern California.

> I suspect WF is guilty of predatory pricing in several
> markets. Lord knows their more expensive (regular)
> stores can support the loss-leader stores until they can
> drive out the competition and raise the prices.

My Northern CA Whole Foods is - selectively - cheaper
than Safeway, often by a lot. Noticed recently: butter
(store brand), everyday olive oil, grapefruit juice, some
beer and frozen vegetables.