March 22
...serving up your daily dish.
Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the Whole Foods parking lot, comes word of another un-zen-like parking moment, this time involving a cab. Our friend Cary Africk writes:
Just got back (1:05 PM) from Whole Foods where the jammed up parking lot with cars cruising for the last available space is only matched by the employees in the store with their carts trying to re-stock the shelves.
Anyway, smack dab in front of the curb cut out lies this taxi – one of the local companies, I think. Not even parked close to the entrance. This way he gets to block both the entrance and the roadway. He must have been there a good 15 minutes, talking to a friend.
So why is it only Whole Foods? I’ve never seen anyone block the Shop Right, or Kings for that matter. Must be something about the laid back atmosphere of Whole Foods. It’s as if to say, “Good friends, nice sunshine. No rush. We’re enjoying ourselves.”
Is Jerry Mosier right? Is the Whole Foods parking lot the "nexus of evil"? Is there some some pernicious side effect of flax seed that we don't know about? (Besides the gas, that is.) Or is the parking lot just too small?
i'd hardly call it the nexus of evil. it's just the parking lot is too darn small! i appreciate Whole Foods a lot, but i honestly try to avoid it unless i need a particular ingredient or two.
i used to live in Syracuse and Wegman's was the place i'd go for good food and organic fare. i LOVED that place. the parking lot was usually pretty full, but massive enough so that i got a spot, and never found myself blocked or in near collisions. Wegman's also seemed to be more down-to-earth in its promotion, displaying its diverse and high quality items without signs constantly boasting their "organic" or "free range" or "rare" qualities and whatnot. i know there's a Wegman's in Woodbridge - too far for me!
Wegmans and Dinosaur BBQ are just about the only things i miss about Syracuse, NY, though. :)
Posted by: E. | Mar 22, 2005 3:03:12 PM
Having grown up in Upstate NY, the nexus of Wegmans, I know exactly what "E." means -- that supermarket has always been a wonderful place, ahead of its time, filled with fresh, interesting foods, ethnic eating stations and lots of other fun things to do and buy. "E" may not know that Wegmans -- motto, "helping you make great meals easy" -- has infiltrated NJ, although not Essex County. In the time it takes to park at Whole Foods and be served at the crowded deli, you could almost drive to a Wegmans in Princeton, Manalapan, Ocean Township, Bridgewater or (as of next year) Mt. Laurel -- or the 3 Wegman locations in the Bethlehem-Allentown-Nazareth, PA triangle.
Maybe someday we'll get one here.
Posted by: Roberta Baldwin | Mar 22, 2005 3:42:30 PM
Very poorly designed parking lot at Whole Foods. Bad placement of island and lots of dead space.
Posted by: Miss Martta | Mar 22, 2005 4:47:25 PM
I hate the Whole Foods parking lot that we never ever go there (well, plus it's so expensive to shop there!). I've seen tons of near accidents and its super hard to find a parking spot. When I do have to go (for something specific) then I try to go at a non-busy time.
I'd LOVE for their to be a Wegman's here...Man, I want one so bad!
We sometimes drive to the Trader Joe's in Wayne...they're a lot cheaper and their frozen food section rocks.
Posted by: butchcjg | Mar 22, 2005 5:18:39 PM
i usually park in the Art Museum parking lot. never have trouble finding a spot there.
Posted by: Left Of Center, like Suzanne Vega | Mar 22, 2005 5:41:50 PM
I have stopped going to Whole Foods because the parking is horrible. I refuse to be frustrated and inconvenienced in order to spend money.
Posted by: ss | Mar 22, 2005 7:37:23 PM
Best to go in the mornings, and avoid it like the plague on weekends.
The parking lot makes me very nervous-- I had an accident there a couple of years ago-- I was pulling out and someone else was pulling in.
Posted by: latebloomer | Mar 22, 2005 8:39:21 PM
Wegmans and Dinosaur! Now you're talking! By the way, East Hanover, who lost their Pathmark recently, turned down a proposal for a Wegmans on Route 10, near the Burger King. They were going to put it on a no longer used industrial site. Wegmans offered to redesign the intersection, and improve the traffic flow. The good residents said it would bring too many cars into the area. Do these guys ever get out? Route 10? Too many cars? What was it going to do, increase the traffic from 30,000 cars per day to 32,000?
Cary
Posted by: carya | Mar 22, 2005 8:42:35 PM
To E-
Dinosaur BBQ has opened shop in Manhattan on the west side near the old Cotton Club. Don't know how it fares to Syracuse, but having only been to the Rochester location, I know that this one can't be too disappointing. Wegman's in Woodbridge is a tad shy of the upstate stores, in that staffing lacks a certain customer sense that I found only in upstate NY. Plus, it's huge warehouse size leaves me cold. Parking is abundant there, however.
Posted by: John | Mar 22, 2005 9:08:38 PM
cary, you're so right about route 10. they joke about the long island expressway being the world's longest parking lot? route 10 is tragicomic in it's traffic flow dysfunction.
as for the whole foods parking lot--yeah, it could be better. i actually find the entrance to the store to be a little congested too. i love the flowers but they need to bring in a brilliant feng shui person to keep the chi--and human traffic--moving smoothly.
Posted by: fran | Mar 22, 2005 9:25:55 PM
Well, I usually go from the Bell St. entrance and park way back there to avoid the mess at the entrance. And now that Shoprite has installed those infernal infomercial TVs at the checkout, I'll be spending even more time at Whole Foods.
Posted by: Alison Meyer | Mar 22, 2005 10:11:37 PM
I used to live in a Wegmans town, and it's a fine store, but the reason the Wegmens parking lots in upstate NY are so spacious is, well, they're in upstate NY.
Posted by: walleroo | Mar 23, 2005 11:11:21 AM
I've shopped at WF for the 10 years I've lived in GR. It used to be a really nice shopping experience but all that changed about 2-3 years ago...just no room to park & no room to shop!
The problem is, I don't like Shoprite because it is so big and seems to take half the day to shop there, and the A&P must have the rudest cashiers on the planet. Kings is ok - but for those prices, I would rather go to WF.
Any OTHER grocery stores to suggest???
Posted by: Pam | Mar 23, 2005 11:29:21 AM
Now that I live in Verona, we shop at Foodtown on Route 23. Prices are decent and the fish is pretty good. They actually have little signs on the fish telling you where it was caught (I know the Whole Foods does this, too).
I do like WF but only shop there on occasion, usually for the produce. I don't like wax on my fruits and veggies!
But I agree about the parking & the crowds. Even inside the store, it's poorly designed, the aisles are cluttered, it doesn't flow well. Yes, let's bring in a fen shui expert!
Posted by: Miss Martta | Mar 23, 2005 11:46:58 AM
Okay maybe nexus of evil was a bit harsh. The problem at Whole Foods has little to do with the size of the lot. If you count the back and frontage on Bloomfield Avenue it seems adequate. The problem in my humble opinion that for some inexplicable reason the lot or I guess the store attracts a whole lot of people who suffer under the grand illusion that they are at the center of the universe, and we mere mortals are merely speed bumps on the road to perdition.
This is the same NJ phenom (yes that includes Montclair) that thinks it's okay to go left on red, cut people off at intersections, tailgate oln South Mountain. These poor souls actually think there lives mean something and that the rest of actually give a damn.
Stop being selfish. Slow down. Relax. And perhaps you might want to consider decaf.
Best,
Jmo
Posted by: Jerry Mosier | Mar 23, 2005 4:06:41 PM
We do a lot of shopping at Whole Foods. I go to it all different times and for the most part, do not have a major problem with parking. The times when I do have problems are peak hours (Saturdays mid-morning to late afternoon). At these times, what has stumped me is that the parking lot is over flowing yet the store is not. I have to wonder if all the cars are really Whole Food shoppers. By the way, what happened to the plans for WF to expand?
What I have found in the Montlcair area is there is no one grocery store that meets all my needs. I divide my shopping between WF, Kings and A&P, sometimes ShopRite, depending on what I need (And,I agree, A&P needs to improve its customer service).
I will say that I have been several times to the Wegmans in Woodbridge. It's a distance but the experience is worth it. It has a great selection and has everything I want (where else can you get duck bacon?), there are no long lines, and the cashiers are nice--when they have no customers in their lane, they actually stand out in front of and welcome you to them. Plus, the prices are reasonable.
Posted by: Greg | Mar 24, 2005 10:21:25 AM
jmo don't back off. it is the nexus of evil. the lot size is fine. it's the size of the shopping heads that can be troublesome. i'm in love with wegman's and i've never even been to one. but friends in clinton also talk about it with great affection. as for the store interior, it is a nightmare. call in the feng shui consultant, who could maybe add a mirror or flute "cure" aimed at the parking lot which would fix some of the attitude issue. worked like a charm with my crazy neighbor in ny who used to sneak into my patio and garden. stopped her dead in her tracks, good old jeanine. she wouldn't be caught dead at WF.
Posted by: mad | Mar 24, 2005 9:56:39 PM
Pam--Main Street. Take the parkway to the hazel street exit. Turn left onto hazel and then take the second right to MAIN STREET. Turn right and Corrados will be on your left.
Posted by: ss | Mar 25, 2005 1:38:43 PM
I love that, for one brief, shining moment, Syracuse took over this thread. Let's get Wegman's, Dinosaur BBQ (the one in Harlem pales in comparison) and a reasonable Awful Al's facsimile down here as soon as possible.
As for the Whole Foods lot, it's the seventh level of hell. People seem to honestly believe that by whipping around the island as fast as they can when the lot is full, the centrifugal force will somehow lift cars out of the occupied spaces. Oh, and don't I love the absent-minded Bloomfield Avenue drivers who turn into the lot from the LEFT westbound lane. One of those intellectual behemoths cut in front of my friend's Caprice with her Subaru Outback. Let's just say an Outback is always going to get the worst end of an encounter with at Chevy.
Posted by: notteham | Mar 26, 2005 12:16:27 PM
I love that, for one brief, shining moment, Syracuse took over this thread. Let's get Wegman's, Dinosaur BBQ (the one in Harlem pales in comparison) and a reasonable Awful Al's facsimile down here as soon as possible.
As for the Whole Foods lot, it's the seventh level of hell. People seem to honestly believe that by whipping around the island as fast as they can when the lot is full, the centrifugal force will somehow lift cars out of the occupied spaces. Oh, and don't I love the absent-minded Bloomfield Avenue drivers who turn into the lot from the LEFT westbound lane. One of those intellectual behemoths cut in front of my friend's Caprice with her Subaru Outback. Let's just say an Outback is always going to get the worst end of an encounter with at Chevy.
Posted by: notteham | Mar 26, 2005 12:16:48 PM
Whole Foods sucks! That it is a green, health food store is bull. They sell Dow and Dupont products-hardly green! Their staff lie about the importance of supporting fair trade coops in promoting their own 365 coffee. They lie about their shrimp being Sea Turtle Safe and they were started on weapons profits. They are intense Union Busters and will readily terminate anyone who dares mention union activity (See Wholeworkersunite.com). The founder admits that he envisioned a seductive sales environment that enticed customers into buying with flirtatious young attractive staff. I have watched customers melt in the hands of whole foods employees and know of three people whose marriages ended because their spouses were actually enticed right out of the store, by employees with severely poor boundaries. And that is just in one store!! Staff are encouraged to dress provocatively where-as in other grocers they are required to dress professionally. You are encouraged to focus on the quality of food, not the sexiness of employees or the "prettiness" of the store. Whole Foods is a con job for Whole Fools! If you are truly environmentally conscious and committed to social justice, boycott Whole Foods and support your local Grocer or Coop. Whole Foods is no better than any other multi national corporation. They suck the life out of our communities while pretending to be community friendly.
Posted by: jobean | Jun 29, 2005 6:50:30 PM
