Whole Foods Market Englewood closing date set

 While this is a bit out of the scope of this blog, this is something that I covered often over at The Sixth Ward. From the time it was announced to the time it opened at 63rd & Halsted Streets, and now we know when Whole Foods Market Englewood will be closing.

According to Block Club Chicago it will be on November 13, 2022. From the time it was announced in the fall of 2013 it was heralded as an oasis in the food desert in Englewood to develop part of the old commercial district. One developer gave his take:

Leon Walker, the managing partner of DL3 Realty, which spearheaded the $20 million Englewood Square development, said in May the store was a success in encouraging other businesses to commit to the square, but it couldn’t perfect the “science of grocery” to create a store well-received with local customers.

Well there goes my own fantasy of seeing Whole Foods open a store in the Pullman/Roseland communities. Although Whole Foods does have a distribution facility on 111th Street near the Calumet err Bishop Ford Expressway.

Never been there? Well Devodare_Chicago on YouTube got you! [VIDEO]

 

Chicago Tonight: Whole Foods Brings Economic Development, Lower Prices to Englewood

Cross-posted from The Sixth Ward

Chicago Tonight did a story about the new Whole Foods Market Englewood that opened on Wednesday. Since this development was announced in 2013, there were plans to keep prices down at this store. It appears that they've kept their promise:

“Definitely there are lower prices here and some very reasonable prices. For an example, whole milk is $1.99 a gallon here, and it’s roughly $4 a gallon in our other locations,” said Michael Bashaw, regional president of Whole Foods. “I think you can go all through the store and look at commodity, day-to-day items that you need to feed your family, and you’ll find those good values.

“We are passing on the benefit of being here in Englewood … the rents are cheaper here, and so our operating costs are lower and that allowed us to have lower retails.”

The dreaded "G" word has come up in this excitement and it appears from this quote from Andrea Natay of RAGE that it's not a concern, “Whole Foods coming into the community does not equal gentrification. Whole Foods coming into the community equals great change. A great, positive change, at that.”

Also consider the fact that 63rd & Halsted had once been an important commercial hub as stated on Chicago Tonight which went into decline during the 1960s and 1970s. We see a fall and now a rebirth.

Speaking of that, it's funny how before 2013 another member of RAGE - in fact the founder - was on WCIU calling for a Whole Foods in Englewood and then guess what it happens. If only I could find that video and preserve it as it had been posted here but is no longer available online. A self-fulfilling prophecy?

Disclaimer: One of the bloggers at The Sixth Ward is a Whole Foods Market team member.

Buy-N-Save Supermarket: What would YOU like to see here?

Last week I walked along 103rd Street and these two images are examples of some of the shots I had taken. Not sure how long this store at 209 E 103rd St has been closed, but it was a surprise when I found out it had been and in a boarded up state. The next is what would you like to see here? Is it possible to attract another grocer here?