[sunlight50]

Or, maybe more appropriately, where are they?

We recently moved to northwest Florida and while I am loving the fresh seafood, the rest of the grocery scene is a little lacking for me. I've spent the past 10 years or so in Dallas/Fort Worth, so I'm used to more upscale grocery stores - Central Market, Whole Foods etc. I love fresh and local produce and such (mmmm....local cheese) and I'm just not finding it at Publix. Anywhere else to look?

[ferret111]

"Upscale" and "Northwest Florida" aren't usually used in the same sentence.

[sunlight50]

Yeah, I get that. But I'm not a snob and I like the beaches and people (also, the military said we have to move here). I'm just looking for a taste of home.

But...after looking through the rest of the threads, it appears this is a place to bash areas you don't like. So nevermind!

[seeriously]

Good question. When we lived in Vero Beach and we had occasion to travel north, we'd want to cry when we walked into a Stop & Shop, Shaws, and yes, even Market Basket, and saw a real produce department. Publix is lacking so many ways but it has a lock on Florida. Shortly before we left Florida, a Fresh Market opened, and somehow it also managed to be lacking, a mini version of what you'd find elsewhere in the country.

[ferret111]

Originally Posted by sunlight50

But...after looking through the rest of the threads, it appears this is a place to bash areas you don't like. So nevermind!

When did I bash Northwest Florida? I'm not knocking a place by saying it's not upscale. I actually like Pensacola, but I'm not going to kid myself by saying it's a progressive place with fancy things and ideas.

[hiknapster]

When you are in the service -- and thank you -- you go where they send you. But they don't call the area "The Redneck Riviera" for nothing. Granted, I live in The South, too, but in a city. It's small by northern city standards but we have two Fresh Markets, two Earth Fares, one Super Target and a Whole Foods coming soon.

However, we also have at least one farmer's market going six days a week.

Have you checked to see if there is a local co-op? And what about local sources? Farmer's markets? Farmers? This can sometimes be a good resource. Hook up with the right people and you will probably be better off than if you had stuck with a chain.

[beachmouse]

Originally Posted by ferret111

"Upscale" and "Northwest Florida" aren't usually used in the same sentence.

I'd be amused to see you try to tell the Seaside-Rosemary Beach-Buckhead South crowd that. They'd probably try to take you out in their BMW M5s over the perceived slight.

But the grocery options come down to a) small population bases compared to the big city and b) it's a pretty far drive to the nearest big city that already has multiple Whole Foods, Trader Joe's etc. So the nationals are reluctant to put in just one store 150+ miles away from the next nearest store in the chain when there are still expansion options that let them cluster stores far closer. Note that there are also no Costcos between Tallahassee and Houston even though I-10 is a perfectly nice shipping corridor.

I suspect that new grocers will prefer to come in as some sort of multi-store cluster between Biloxi and Panama City in order to increase shipping efficiency, and until they feel the economy is good enough to support that kind of expansion, the most we can hope for is the rumored Pensacola Costco.

Having said that, Fresh Market in Destin has some produce that nearby Publixes (Publixi?) don't and their bakery can be very nice:

The Fresh Market, A Fine Neighborhood Specialty Grocer

It's not quite Whole Foods, but it's as close as we're likely to get anytime soon. For the Health of It in Blue Mountain Beach also has some things you can't really find anywhere else. And for the even more obscure, there are a number of interesting Asian markets in Ft. Walton Beach that are fun to explore, and well as a Mexican market in Beal Pkwy that makes its own tortillas, and a number of specialty bakeries. Some of the Chan's Wine World stores also have good cheese counters.

[ferret111]

Originally Posted by beachmouse

I'd be amused to see you try to tell the Seaside-Rosemary Beach-Buckhead South crowd that. They'd probably try to take you out in their BMW M5s over the perceived slight.

Two small, expensive communities don't define the whole Panhandle. They hardly even represent Walton County.

[beachmouse]

Expanding outward from South Walton it's funny how Defense Department pork projects and the military industrial complex have actually pushed median household incomes in greater Ft. Walton Beach higher than any place in the state outside of Naples, the Keys, and the Jacksonville exburbs:

https://www.efanniemae.com/sf/refmaterials/hudmedinc/hudincomeresults.jsp?STATE=FL&choice=county&CITY=& FormsButton1=Search (broken link)

Plenty of the hicks up here are doing pretty well working on high tech engineering projects you probably don't have the security clearance to know about.

[chopchop0]

Originally Posted by sunlight50

Or, maybe more appropriately, where are they?

We recently moved to northwest Florida and while I am loving the fresh seafood, the rest of the grocery scene is a little lacking for me. I've spent the past 10 years or so in Dallas/Fort Worth, so I'm used to more upscale grocery stores - Central Market, Whole Foods etc. I love fresh and local produce and such (mmmm....local cheese) and I'm just not finding it at Publix. Anywhere else to look?

You'll find them in the larger cities (Tampa, Miami, Orlando etc.) outside of NW FL