The ‘good neighbor’ supermarket

Typically when a large-scale supermarket moves into a neighborhood it brings with it a large-scale parking lot in front. The great thing about close-knit neighborhoods is that the residents would never stand for it.

Take this example of a brand new Whole Foods that opened in Dupont Circle/Logan Circle in Washington DC – all the parking is underground or above the store and completely out of view. The only evidence of parking is the car entryway to the right of the store. Shoppers can use elevators to take their grocery carts up or down.

Interestingly however, the lines move very quickly even though the store is an overnight success. Because the store is surrounded by housing and offices, shoppers in these areas have the option of not having to get their groceries during rush hour. Because many of them live and work so near, they can make more frequent trips. What’s the value in that? Less rotten food, no overstuffed freezers and lot more spontaneous creativity in cooking.

One benefit of living in this area is that you can buy your socially/environmentally/healthy conscious organics when they’re affordable, and choose from several nearby grocery options when they’re not… I’ll focus on these this week.

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neilkt