Third Whole Foods Planned for Riverside (Jacksonville: transplants, 2014, rent)

[Thundarr457]

https://www.jacksonville.com/story/b...le/9619877002/

We must be coming up in the world. Now we will have three Whole Foods. I live 10 minutes from the Jax Beach store and was thrilled when it opened.

[roadtrip75]

That ain't Riverside. That's Brooklyn.

[nutritionchump]

Still nothing in St. John's. There was an Earth Fare but they shut it down because the landlords raised the rent on them again. The store was practically empty though so I don't think that type of store is in demand here.

[DanielAvery]

I hope The Fresh Market will open in that old Earth Fare space. I recall Earth Fare opening and closing then re-opening and re-closing...the fixtures inside are probably showroom new! Ponte Vedra and Fleming Island already have Fresh Market locations and Whole Foods is just a bit too high-brow for my taste. Fresh Market is a lot closer to what Earth Fare tried to be.

That Riverside Whole Foods is being built right across the street from a Fresh Market, and I wonder if that's a good thing for either store.

[Florida2014]

Publix has a store on basically every other corner now. I don't see any new grocery stores making an entrance into this market here in NE FL anytime soon. Not to mention I don't think the demand for healthy/organic food is that strong here in the south. The organic section of food at the local grocery stores is about five feet wide, lol.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by Florida2014

Publix has a store on basically every other corner now. I don't see any new grocery stores making an entrance into this market here in NE FL anytime soon. Not to mention I don't think the demand for healthy/organic food is that strong here in the south. The organic section of food at the local grocery stores is about five feet wide, lol.

Not from the Florida Cracker-type natives but for transplants from other areas who are accustomed to it there'll be quite the demand. Whole Foods does a tremendous amount of market research when scoping out new locations and doesn't just jump on new growth areas "just because". They're also not as "high-brow" as another post alluded to. There are a lot of regular folks who strive to live healthier with organic food and while more expensive to produce than conventional factory farming, Whole Foods' store brand (365) is quite reasonable in price and fairly plentiful in most areas of the store.

[JBtwinz]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

Not from the Florida Cracker-type natives but for transplants from other areas who are accustomed to it there'll be quite the demand. Whole Foods does a tremendous amount of market research when scoping out new locations and doesn't just jump on new growth areas "just because". They're also not as "high-brow" as another post alluded to. There are a lot of regular folks who strive to live healthier with organic food and while more expensive to produce than conventional factory farming, Whole Foods' store brand (365) is quite reasonable in price and fairly plentiful in most areas of the store.

I am so surprised that Whole Foods hasn’t established a presence on Amelia Island. We definitely have the demographics for a store here. We few locals still have Winn Dixie as the Publix and Harris Teeters prices are crazy high.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by JBtwinz

I am so surprised that Whole Foods hasn’t established a presence on Amelia Island. We definitely have the demographics for a store here. We few locals still have Winn Dixie as the Publix and Harris Teeters prices are crazy high.

The demographics are there, but not the population threshold unfortunately.

[JBtwinz]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

The demographics are there, but not the population threshold unfortunately.

I think we have reached it, but I could be wrong. Harris Teeter has recently expanded to meet the needs and there are rumors Publix on island would like a second store on the south end. Currently they have three stores within ten miles of each other and all are being overwhelmed.

Never thought I would see such overall growth both north of Jacksonville and south of Jacksonville.