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The new city grocery chains are certainly vying for each and every single impressionable shopper with their glossy new stores and pretty, pretty produce. But Whole Foods is taking the fight into a new arena: They will be touting low prices in an upcoming ad campaign. It's practically like Every Day Low Prices - does that mean will we see BYOGOF (Buy One Get One Free), too? It seems Whole Foods is trying to extend its appeal from that "fancy organic place" to that "fancy organic place with good prices," perhaps trying to take a little from Trader Joe's lustre. The NY Times, which will be running some of the ads in The City section, analyzed prices of grocery stores in the Union Square nexus and found some interesting results:
In several cases, Whole Foods' prices were, in fact, the lowest. An 8-ounce package of Philadelphia Cream Cheese was $1.99 at Whole Foods, compared with $2.19 at Walgreen's and $2.99 at the Food Emporium. A 15-ounce box of Kashi Crunch cereal was $2.49 at Whole Foods, compared with $2.69 at Trader Joe's and $3.49 at Food Emporium.This confirms what we knew all along: Food Emporium is ridiculously overpriced. But whether or not Whole Foods' new tactic will work remains to be seen, Whole Foods does have a wider selection of products than Trader Joe's.
Do you think Whole Foods is a better value? Does this campaign turn you on or off? And at Fairway, there had been (is it still there?) an amusing sign showing how Fairway prices are cheaper than Whole Foods and FreshDirect.
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What do we think they should put in the Food Emporium space when it goes out of business?
How about a massive Marc Jacobs? We all need that. There could be a Magnolia bakery counter in the back.
Food Emporium has the best prepared food section in the city. TOO bad they are next to the subway where damn bums loiter all around. It's disgusting! I saw this black chick just eating garbage and spitting all day outside. Whole foods has the cheapest packaged health food but the price of produce is ridiculous!!!! Pathmark is wher it's at.
Whole Foods is by far cheaper than say Dagastino's or Food Emporium. Not to mention the better selection of produce, dry foods, green items, sushi, sandwiches, prepared foods, cheese, vino, meats etc. Also, the employees are knowlegable on the store. They also speak english/spanish and not ebonics.
The check out line should be a model for every store in America, such as CVS, any bank, and other grocery stores.
As much as I feel that a little part of NYC dies with each new national chain coming in here, I have to admit that I'm glad Whole Foods is shaking things up. I live right by a Gristedes but will always do the walk to Fairway (or subway to Whole Foods) for the prices and quality. Has anyone here EVER walked out of Gristedes, Food Emporium, D'Ag, or Associated thinking "Man, that's some good quality food for my hard-earned money!"?
Something needs to be done with the Whole Foods Columbus Circle's line. I go in there to get lunch and I wind up waiting ten minutes on line. They need some sort of just hot/salad bar line.
I think Trader Joe's has the best funky stuff (frozen seafood, caviar, odd wraps, rice bowls); Whole Foods great prices on fresh seafood and prepared foods; Fairway, best prices on produce (especially organic stuff) and also the best selection of cheeses.
If anyone from Whole Foods corporate is reading...can we please get a whole foods on the UES? It can take over the Gross-tidies that is on 72nd and 1st.
CTown is where it's at! Best prices you an find.
I second that- long live C-Town!
Anyone who knows me knows that I am firmly anti-Dagostinos. Their food always rings up high than marked, and half of the time it's spoiled. Try not to buy things on sale there... they usually put yogurt and stuff about to go bad at a cheaper price.
Whole Foods at Columbus Circle is great -- but don't go on Sunday! It was like pre-Hurricane-style battling for food/water.
I always thought wholefoods had very low prices!
Why does NYC have the worst supermarkets in the nation? The employees are generally apathetic/terrible. The produce is old, mealy, and boring. The chicken is yellow. YELLOW! Oh how I long for the supermarkets of the West Coast, for the old Art's on Holman Road (now a QFC), where the same cashiers cheerily rang you up year after year after year--thanks to a strong union and good wages; where you could buy a carrot, facial cleanser, and fishing line, all for good prices; where there were cash registers in both the front AND THE BACK of the store. Art's. Good times.
Anyway, I think good wages and unions go a long way to making quality cashiers (though Whole Foods is strongly anti-labor).
Food Emporium isn't bad if you only, ONLY buy stuff from their specials ad -
http://www.thefoodemporium.com/weekly_specials.asp
I like whole foods and can't wait for avalon/christie place to open. Key foods has some of the worst fruit I have ever seen.
I'm a Trader Joe's fan for many, many things. But if I want cheaper prices overall, I head to the neighborhood Ctown!
toby: 10 minutes? check your watch again. it may feel like 10 minutes, but i doubt it is. I also wait on the "lunch line" and it's no where near 10 minutes.
if you're in a real hurry get checked out at any of teh other registers in the store, i.e. sushi etc. I sometimnes check out at the sushi line with my gorceries, it's faster and no line.
Food Emporium rocks. Only insecure losers diss it.
TJs is a joke. I only go there when I want to laugh at fat, ugly, pimple-faced idiots stuffing their baskets with nuts and chips.
I like Whole Foods but their prepared foods are horrifically fattening.
Wow! I'm really surprised by the racism coming out in some of these postings.
I have to say, I shop at a DAG's and a Gristede's, and while I can't say I really LIKE either of them (and I do prefer Whole Foods), I can't say that I'm surprised if I don't get excellent, smiley service either. I mean, I'm struggling to get by with my office job, how are these folks supposed to put on some cheery demeanor when they work at a grocery store and are probably seriously underpaid?
Food Emporium is just another store A&P is afraid to put their own brand on for fear even less people will come.
To CBues (#8): I heard they are thinking of putting a Whole Foods around 86th & Lex.
I've heard the 86th st rumor also, but I'm not sure how valid it is. Plus - if it were true, I think it's going to be a long time before it comes up - lots of work to be done there.
I suspect they dorked up their survey. I know for a fact that Trader Joe's got a special bigger box from Kashi; they were all talking about it a few months ago.
Yeah, it's a chronic problem. People like to be overtly racist on this site's comment boards to stir up controversy. It's pathetic and it might be the worst part of Gothamist. But I still read the site... you takes the good with the bad.
what racism? I think people are just writing racist shit but aren't really racists. It's like there are goddamn disgusting homeless bums in front of Food Emporium and they are all black but it's not racist. They are Ghetto. It's just coincedental that they are black. If we were in tennessee they'd be white trash ghetto.
I love trader joes and their selection is great, but when I want overall cheap I always head to c-town. Krasdale products are my life.
Food emporium just sucks, I spent 6 bucks on some cheap off brand hotdogs, buns, and a bag of kraut today. Moving to Murray Hill and being far away from any C-town sucks.
I'm confused. are you guys talking about C-town the grocery store or C-town as in CHINATOWN like mulberry street where all the produce is at?
Whole Foods is too fucking expensive. They damn well better get competitive then maybe I'd start shopping there more often.
Whole Foods is for faggots! snooty little bitches who love ManCock Juice. whoever shops there loves Dick!
You guys need a Tops-they're union, pay good wages, with benefits like health care. They've got everything...even international foods. Wegman's would be good in NYC too. They offer all sorts of extras, like onsite day care in a lot of stores. And, I think both stores aggressively promote from within, and offer all sorts of scholarships/tuition assistance to employees. Plus...everything in the produce, dairy, meat and bakery sections in both stores, is FRESH. No yellow chicken, no brown beef, no lettuce gone to slime.
I think the lack of good grocery stores in NYC has something to do with the mob... I can't say anything more than that. ;)
Wegmans would be quite nice.
I have been to a few upstate and they have some very good private label foods.
Wegman's is great.