Grocery shopping just reached a new level in our fair state.  You might think something titled “Whole Foods Market” would be just another granola paradise with a commitment to organic and natural foods.  You’d be wrong.  The first retail operation to open in Portland’s downtown Brewery Blocks development, this 26,000-square-foot mega store virtually has it all when it comes to good eats and other components of a happy, healthy lifestyle.  

This unique grocery operation began in 1980 with a single small store in Austin, Texas and was one of the first “natural foods” markets in the land.  The founders had a vision that has exploded into 128 stores in 25 states and D.C., with another 17 outlets in the planning and/or construction stages.  Rapid growth has been achieved through mergers and acquisitions.  Whole Foods now operates its own seafood distribution company and a coffee roasting business.  A produce purchasing office sends buyer/inspectors into the field.  Each store boasts a bakery and commercial kitchen producing deli items and whole packaged meals.  The new Portland store has both Pizza and Salad bars where customers can select ingredients.  You can also step up to an Olive bar.

Upping the ante

The food trade publication “Gourmet Retailer” states that “health now plays a part in food-buying decisions of 90% of U.S. grocery shoppers.“  Oregon, land of the bottle bill, land-use laws and environmental respect, pioneered “natural foods” retailing over 30 years ago with “Nature’s Fresh Northwest” a small Portland grocery that grew into a chain of seven stores, sold by its owners, who have created a chain of “New Seasons” organically-oriented supermarkets.

We just visited the Whole Foods Portland operation, and can report with certainty that it ups the natural foods ante by a potful.  It concentrates on healthy products, but presents them in a style, variety and abundance Joe Albertson has never known.  Here you’ll find a reflection of European public markets, with sights, sounds, smells and activity to create a fulsome shopping experience.  Many supermarkets offer most of the features found at
Whole Foods, but not with this panache…products here are staged for stardom.  Seafood, Meat, Poultry, Produce and Deli sections mount an awesome attack on one’s appetite.

An open kitchen worthy of a major hotel attracts attention and fills retail display cases with a daunting array of foodstuffs that include soups, sushi, salads, roasts and rotisseried poultry prepared on the premises.  The bakery occupies its own mezzanine floor and turns out an impressive variety of breads and pastries.  You can pick out a doughnut and pull up a stool to sip a brew from the Allegro coffee bar that offers more bean choices than we’ve yet seen.

Whole Foods buyers really know their stuff.  We’ve found and tasted items unavailable in the Beaver state until now.  A brilliantly laid out wine section covers all the vinous bases, including such little known production regions as Austria and Argentina.

Reasonable pricing

It’s gratifying to find that Whole Foods’ showmanship does not exact an undue price on your purchases.  The company is of a size to pass on the economies of volume buying.  Whole Foods calls itself a “company with a mission,” and trumpets the fact that Fortune magazine has placed it on its “100 best companies to work for” list the last five years running.

Your correspondent does not overly concern himself with the healthy aspects of what he eats.  Whole Foods claims deep concern for its patrons’ health, but seems equally concerned with your tastebuds and your eyeballs.  Here’s proof that you can gorge your senses without shortening your lifespan…at least we’d like to be convinced of that after enjoying this show that rivals anything yet produced by the grocery trade.

Location: 1210 NW Couch Street, between NW
                Burnside and Couch and 12th and 13th avenues.

© 2002  Oregon Magazine  (Photos and illustration are © 2002 Whole Foods, Inc)