Whole Foods in Northwest Indiana? (South Bend, Gary: college, income, organic)

[summer22]

I have pretty much fallen in love with Meijer's prices and organic food selection, even though its a 30 minute drive from Valpo to Lake County. But, I still really, really wish there was a Whole Foods somewhere in NWI.

I'm still surprised they haven't yet opened a location in either Orland Park or in South Bend/Mishawaka. Those wouldn't necessarily be convenient, but, it just kind of shows they haven't built out their market at the same pace as other stores. They're picky.

On their website it says this:

If you have a retail location you think would make a good site for Whole Foods Market, Inc., please review the following guidelines carefully for consideration:

200,000 people or more in a 20-minute drive time
25,000-50,000 Square Feet
Large number of college-educated residents
Abundant parking available for our exclusive use
Stand alone preferred, would consider complementary
Easy access from roadways, lighted intersection
Excellent visibility, directly off of the street
Must be located in a high traffic area (foot and/or vehicle)

What NWI locations would meet, or come close to, these criteria? Hammond/Highland, or somewhere down US41? I don't think any Porter County locations would meet the 200,000 people requirement. Portage might, maybe, because Gary is close.

Whole Foods is one of the big reasons I make a special monthly trip in to Chicago (and spend money there instead of in Indiana). I think it would probably take some work by NWI mayors to get Whole Foods to consider this area, but where would it work?

[LIS123]

I'm not sure there is s good spot in NWI for Whole Foods, as this may not be the right place for it. I question whether there will be enough people willing and able to pay the price premium for what may or may not be added health benefits. That said, my guess is Munster or Dyer might be amongst the better locations. I wouldn't recommend it for now, though.

[summer22]

Its sort of a Catch-22. You need stores like WF to attract (or keep) a young, diverse, culturally creative crowd. But, first they need a base to build on.

[Northwest Indiana]

I pretty much agree with everyone here. I would love for a whole foods to come. Munster and Saint John would have the strongest base to support a Whole Foods as well as Dyer and Schererville (most of Crown Point as well). However when people (especially outsiders) look at NWI, they think of "GARRRRYYYY" so that is something we have to try to get passed to attract upscale businesses. It is possible though! I am hopeful!

[tonythetrout]

What is soooooo great about Whole Food's? Why can't you just go to Ultra's, Jewel, or Strack Van Til?

[Northwest Indiana]

Originally Posted by tonythetrout

What is soooooo great about Whole Food's? Why can't you just go to Ultra's, Jewel, or Strack Van Til?

You obviously haven't been to Whole Foods...

[richb]

Whole Foods isn't coming to Northwest Indiana anytime soon.

The supermarket business is very competitive in the region, even more so then in most places. So much so that Dominick's, (which is part of a national chain) couldn't compete here and pulled out. Whole Foods would have to lower their prices to a level they don't want to go to.

I can't think of a place with more independent supermarket operators then NW Indiana. Its actually a good thing. I would rather have these operators competing against each other and the national chains here already then just national chains like most places. If there is a market for some of the organic items, they will fill it at some point.

[SonySegaTendo617]

Originally Posted by richb

Whole Foods isn't coming to Northwest Indiana anytime soon.

The supermarket business is very competitive in the region, even more so then in most places. So much so that Dominick's, (which is part of a national chain) couldn't compete here and pulled out. Whole Foods would have to lower their prices to a level they don't want to go to.

I can't think of a place with more independent supermarket operators then NW Indiana. Its actually a good thing. I would rather have these operators competing against each other and the national chains here already then just national chains like most places. If there is a market for some of the organic items, they will fill it at some point.

That is some interesting insight. Didn't realize Dominick's had pulled out of NW Indiana! I definitely do find it a little ironic that Whole Foods isn't considering any NW Indiana locations in the future, considering that IIRC, their regional warehouse(or at least one of them, not sure if they have more than one, I just recall reading this somewhere) is in Munster.

Still though, I'm surprised that at the very minimum I haven't heard any plans for a store in the Orland/Tinley Park area. If Trader Joe's can be successful having a store out there, you'd think Whole Foods would want to jump in as well.

[slow_nerve_action]

There were some Munster residents that contacted Whole Foods a while back about this, especially when the supermarket pulled out of 45th/Fran-Lin, and was just sitting empty. The bottom line was:

-not enough college-educated residents
-not enough median income

in the radius surrounding the area.

Don't expect a Trader Joe's anytime soon....the parent company (Aldi) is still mad about what St. John's pulled a while back.



While Munster/Dyer/St. John's are (relatively) well-off, they feel there would be very limited draw from the poorer border suburbs in Illinois, from anything north of I-80, and Highland/Griffith.

[Bluefox]

Originally Posted by slow_nerve_action

There were some Munster residents that contacted Whole Foods a while back about this, especially when the supermarket pulled out of 45th/Fran-Lin, and was just sitting empty. The bottom line was:

-not enough college-educated residents
-not enough median income

in the radius surrounding the area.

Don't expect a Trader Joe's anytime soon....the parent company (Aldi) is still mad about what St. John's pulled a while back.



While Munster/Dyer/St. John's are (relatively) well-off, they feel there would be very limited draw from the poorer border suburbs in Illinois, from anything north of I-80, and Highland/Griffith.

That sounds about right to me. Even in San Diego, a city of about 1.3 million people, there are only two Whole Foods Markets. In the entire city. Two!

What did St. John do to **** off Aldi? And I thought that Aldi wasn't the parent company of TJ's, but rather that the two companies were just owned by the same family?