The Fetishism of Whole Foods
We've mentioned it briefly before, but several readers have written in to ask us to comment further, and we have to say that this is now officially fairly ridiculous. On Saturday the Post ran a whole feature article on the campaign of some Columbia Heights residents to bring a Whole Foods Market to the new Target/Best Buy development at 14th Street and Park NW — a plan that has been stalled over disagreements concerning dedicated parking for the grocer. The "movement" even has signifcant space over at ColumbiaHeightsNews.org.
Listen, we enjoy paying $14 for carryout curried chicken salad or $3.99 a lb. for organic bell peppers as much as the next guy. There's nothing like popping into a Whole Foods every so often to get your mouth watering and your wallet wondering how the hell you just spent $50 on ingredients for a single meal for two people. Whole Foods is a fantasy land of health and convenience, and we're sure glad they're here in the District. But that's just it. They're already here.
As we've felt compelled to point out in the past, the Logan Circle store is only 1.65 miles from the site of the proposed Columbia Heights market. Is the Parrano cheese situation in this city really so desperate? Of course it's not, and sadly, the Post article spells out all too clearly the class and race-based tensions underlying much of the thinking behind the people trying to coax the store into opening.
Just a few choice quotes:
"I've been a resident of the neighborhood since 2001 and have seen it improve greatly since I moved there," one homeowner wrote in an e-mail to Whole Foods. "The quality of the residents, as well as the quality of the restaurants and stores in the area are likewise on a steep upward trajectory."Wow. The quality of the residents is on an upward trajectory, eh? So like, if they'd just put in a Whole Foods, y'all would be totally validated that you're wealthy and special! Yes, it's great that Columbia Heights has come such a long way in terms of crime and economic development over the last five years. But pardon us if we let out a collective ewww at the thought that the people who have recently moved to Columbia Heights think of themselves as higher "quality" than the people who have lived there for 15 or 30 years.
Lauren Tobias, 29, a communications consultant who lives at 14th and Chapin streets, spoke glowingly about the prepared foods at Whole Foods and how young professionals want the convenience of picking up a quick, healthy dinner. Then she caught herself. "I don't want it to sound like I'm one of the new people and I need all these services," she said. "But a Whole Foods is just needed."Really? Goodness, we sure do wonder what people ever did before this SuperMeccaStore, though we suppose it's possible they actually cooked their own meals (gasp). In all seriousness, what on earth is behind this notion that Whole Foods will deliver us all to a higher plane of existence? Sure, it's a nice store, but it's no bargain, and they don't even carry most essential products. The brand new Giant in Columbia Heights, with its wide aisles, extensive ethnic food selection and spacious parking lot couldn't possibly be as inferior as the people in this story claim. We love Columbia Heights, and we'd certainly like to see any number of stores open up in that area if that's what residents really want. But focusing so much energy on getting a Whole Foods when there's one a quick bus ride away makes us wonder whether there's an emerging Whole Foods religious cult we haven't gotten any brochures about yet.