Urban Jacksonville

Whole Foods, Chelsea

Update:Karen Brune Mathis chimes in on the Whole Foods arrival. Pretty much says exactly what I said. With a bit more research to back it up.

The Times-Union writes that organic foods retailer, Whole Foods Market will open in a 50,000 square foot store on San Jose Blvd in Mandarin. The store, scheduled to open in mid-2008, is a welcome addition to many who make it a priority to buy organic and natural when possible.

Mackenzie wrote the paragraph above, but I wanted to expand on this. We talked about it last night and I was wondering why Whole Foods would open in such a saturated grocery market like Mandarin. Mackenzie answered quickly “that’s what I would do”. Her being more business minded than me I thought about it for a hot second and realized she is right.

Why would they do this? Because the market and demographics are there. Mandarin has established that they will buy natural and organic products in scores. There is the mainstay Native Sun, which by the way is not scared of Whole Foods. There is also Fresh Market which is not exclusively organic, but bills itself as a specialty grocer. And don’t forget the Publix which recently opened a new concept grocery store with a large organic/natural component, although not one of their Greenwise stores, which is all organic. Obviously Publix is testing this market too.

This made me to realize Springfield’s dreams of courting a major grocery chain to open in Springfield are delusional. At least for now. If San Marco, with its upper-middle class demographic, cannot convince a grocery chain to open in the area what chance does Springfield have? Apparently the grocery game is not about income, but more about bodies.

Thinking about it more, opening in Mandarin makes perfect sense. Mandarin is right in the middle of San Marco, Orange Park, Julington Creek and Baymeadows. Some of the most dense population areas in the city.

The grocery hopes for Springfield, Downtown and Southbank/San Marco now fall to Haydon Burns redevelopment which mentions plans for a grocery component. Maybe Wild Oats would be interested in opening in Downtown Jacksonville.

tags: jacksonville, grocery, mandarin, whole foods, wild oats, publix, greenwise

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 2nd, 2006 at 9:31 am and is filed under Downtown Jacksonville, News, Springfield. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Ana

I am glad we have a Whole Foods anywhere in
Jacksonville.
I really want to see here is a Trader Joes .

I am just glad we are getting more variety if you are a Foodie you know what I am talking about.
Daniel W. Selhorst

Trying to get the shots of the new Wholefoods in Jacksonville.
Just sayin (the real)

For once, JR, you're spot-on.
Johnny Rotten

I hate Mandarin.

I'd rather sniff other peoples farts than drive to ugly.
Jen Breaux

It is the best location. And you're right, Springfield needs more development before it would be able to court such a large grocery store. They need a lot of land for the warehouse/store, parking, etc. People shop a lot on weekends and many will travel to Mandarin because it is centrally located and has a proven track record of specialty stores. I'm just so happy it's finally there. I've been checking the WFM website off and on since I moved back to Jax this past May and it was like a scavenger hunt to find info. about the exact opening. Nothing on the website except, "opening soon." I finally 411'd the number, called it, still nothing except a welcome message. Finally googled it and saw an article on Jacksonville,com that announced the date as Dec. 10. Thank God! Just in time for Christmas/New Year's -- perfect.
Chris

Thanks for all the great posts Joey. I found your article in the newspaper from 2006. I wanted to invite you to our community at inSocialMedia.com. We are based out of Jax as well. Check us out.

cp
Readergardener

And now Wild Oats has been bought Whole Foods...
joeymarchy

Good call Michael. My use of the word dense would definitely require some qualification. I did not mean in terms of people per sq/ft, but more like "where the majority of people who inhabit Jacksonville live".
Michael Lewyn

"Mandarin is right in the middle of San Marco, Orange Park, Julington Creek and Baymeadows. Some of the most dense population areas in the city."

The northern fringe of Mandarin (where I live) is about 5 miles from my office in Baymeadows, and about 8 miles from San Marco. And none of the areas you mentioned are "dense" by the standards of anyplace other than Jacksonville.

Just goes to show how unusual Jacksonville is compared to anyplace outside the South.
Melissa

I am so excited even if it is almost 2 years away! For those of you who love organics, this company is seeks organic reps to sell organic skincare! www.greenwise.mionegroup.com
Melissa

I am so excited even if it is almost 2 years away! For those of you who love organics, this company is seks organic reps to sell organic skincare! www.greenwise.mionegroup.com
Megan

I'm still really holding out for a Whole Foods... I can go to Orlando for Macy's, if I must, but I certainly can't drive 2 hours for groceries!

For me, having a Whole Foods in Jacksonville (anywhere in Jacksonville!) would very much improve my quality of life, much more so than opening another Old Navy.
Uturn

I love the idea about the Farmer's Market going downtown! Great idea!

Hey, just another reminder to all your Springfieldians (is that a word?).... River City Marketplace on Airport Road (about 10-15 minutes from you guys) is opening new stores every week. We now have an Old Navy, PetSmart, Lowe's, Wal-Mart, Dollar Tree, Bed Bath & Beyond, Ross, Michael's, Office Max, S&K Men's Store, Cold Stone Creamery, GameStop, Payless, Hair Cuttery, Mattress Firm, Fashion Bug, Chili's, Hollywood 14 Theater, Jan's Quilt & Stitch. I hope I'm not forgetting anybody.

About to open is Panera Bread, Renna's Pizza, Kirkland's Home Store, Kay Jewelers, a few other women's clothing stores, Starbucks, Chik-Fil-A, a Mexican cantina, a day spa of some sort, a Goodyear tire store, a Japanese steakhouse, a "ribshack" type place, and I know I'm probably forgetting some.

Anyway, this may not be Macy's and Saks Fifth Avenue - but there is pretty much something for everybody. Support northside merchants!
thelakelander

Joey you can find all you need on the farmer's market push on these two links:

Farmer's Market to Relocate! Why not Downtown?
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/content/view/238/57/

Jacksonville Farmer's Market Photo Tour
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/content/view/242/57/

We need all the help possible for this to happen. For the record, JEDC is on board and is working to make this reality.
Joey Marchy

Daniel can you send me a form email with the major points? I can post something on the blog about sending emails to the city officials
Downtownparks

There has also been some rumblings about getting the Beaver St Farmers Market to Move downtown (It has to move anyway, why not downtown)

A bunch of us sent emails to Ron Barton and Terry Lorince to push them to create a "market district" in LaVilla
Kathryn

The Whole Foods arrival to Jax is very similar to what happened to "Harry's Farmers Market" in Atlanta during the 1980's and 1990's. The company first opened in the fast-growing suburban markets and then later expanded into the in-town areas.

In the meantime, check out the former "ghetto" WD downtown. It has gotten much better and promises to carry some organic stuff once the renovation is completed (to start in Jan.) Lots of talk about it on the SPAR forum board.
Adam B

i grew up in jax, as did my mom, her father, and his father. i went away to college for 5 years (fall of 2000 - summer of 2005), and it's amazing the development that has occurred. springfield, riverside, avondale, san marco, downtown. it's all so much better than what used to be. i'm going away to college again in the fall of 2007, and it'll be interesting what happens in the three years i'll be gone.
joeymarchy

Thanks Megan. I do recognize the oxy-moronicness of the name, but hey, you gotta work with what you have.

When I started the blog I had just moved back home to Jacksonville from Minneapolis. I started with the hope of bringing a little more urban-ness to this sprawling, largely ass-backwards city, in terms of urban development.

It is nice to hear I have accomplished my goal by giving something valuable to the community. Glad you enjoy and spread the word. Maybe one day Jacksonville will become a bit more urban and lend more meaning to the blog's name.
Megan

I would like to say "thank you" to whoever is maintaining this website. I just moved here from Washington, DC with my boyfriend (we'll be staying here for 3 or 4 years, and then returning to NY or DC).

I was very happy to take a break from "city life", to live someplace quiet and pretty.

However, it has been difficult for us to adjust to not having all the conveniences and pleasures of a big city... like Whole Foods, metros and subways, good shopping, endless yummy and interesting restaurants, international airports, ect...

Although I have to say that the term "urban Jacksonville" rings as an oxymoron, I have found this website to be a great resource and I would recommend it to anyone making the transition from a big city to Jacksonville.
Uturn

If there is really a market for this type of thing in Jacksonville, then this sounds like an internet business just waiting to happen. Order your groceries in the morning and have them delivered to you in the afternoon. Lower overhead and you're accessible to every part of town.

Whole Foods Market finally reaches Jacksonville

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