July 26, 2007
Organic Grocery Store to Columbia Heights?
After some Columbia Heights residents raised a stink about the discount retailers at the DC USA shopping center and campaigned in vain for a Whole Foods, there's something they can be happy about: an organic grocery store, Richmond-based Ellwood Thompson's, could be coming to the neighborhood in 18 months.
While the Express' FreeRide blog said the store will only move into an eco-friendly Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (or LEED) certified building, we contacted company spokesperson Lesley Johnson, who told us that "Ellwood Thompson’s preference is to be located in a green or LEED-certified building, but we will consider other locations in Columbia Heights if a green development isn’t available."
When asked about the DC USA shopping center at 14th and Irving Streets NW, which appears not to be LEED-certified, she said "We’ve seen the DC USA site. It’s a great location and we’re definitely interested." She added the store is looking to rent and probably would not build their own facility. Johnson also said "we've heard some mention of" the residents' campaign for a Whole Foods.
The store, which has only one location in Richmond, carries mostly organic produce and tries to purchase from local farmers and suppliers. It carries free-range and organic meat and doesn't carry products with certain chemicals or high-fructose corn syrup.
When asked to compare the store with other grocery stores, Johnson cited the "ease of shopping" at Trader Joe’s and the "focus on freshness and quality" of Whole Foods. Just browsing the store's website, it reminds us of an organic version of Rodman's or a super-size Yes! or My Organic Market. The Ellwood Thompson's, My and Yes! websites are so similar because they're all hosted by the same company. Johnson said Thompson's should have a new website in a month or so.
So, Columbia Heightsters, is this what you were looking for?
Photo by sailor/girl
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Hell, I'm not picky. Anything that thins the checkout lines at the CH Giant is just effin' ducky.
Yes- organic and not giant/safeway/cvs, etc.
I'll take it.
I'm from Richmond originally and used to live near Ellwood Thompson's and it is awesome. I would take it over Whole Foods for sure.
I won't be shopping there because I could care less about the food being organic or child-labor free. And I doubt that a lot of the poorer members of the neighborhood will be shopping there unless it takes WIC checks.
Re #5 - Your point about WIC shoppers may be true, but it's not like there aren't other options for groceries in CH/Mt. Pleasant. The enormous Park Road Giant has a fantastic selection of cheap meat and produce that have attracted a variety of CH shoppers. (Unfortunately, it also has terrible, terrible service, but that's another story.)
Count me in as a future shopper there if they follow through with their plans. We definitely need something to take the heat off of Giant's long lines!
-Mr T in DC
yippee!
I'm Richmond and love Ellwood-Thompson's. It has great service and is an excellent presence in the community. Wonderful idea for Columbia Heights
Awesome, awesome, awesome. Hopefully the come in and do well, so Whole Foods realizes what they passed up.
DC USA is going to be a Target, Staples, WSC, and then just a bunch of low-end stores that make each other redundant. Why does that one block need a Marshalls AND a Ross? (And doesn't Target sell inexpensive clothing?) This food store sounds fabulous. I hope it really happens.
(I also hope that the Target is a *good* Target, not the one in PG that reminds me of CH Giant.)
As a former Richmondite, I, too, will offer a fervent endorsement of Ellwood Thompson (located in that city at the corner of...uhm, Ellwood and, errr...sorry--not coming to me.)
Very nice store, not concerned with image or being cool or serving the Brotherhood of Scenesters. Just the best food they can put on the shelves. In Richmond, it was a needed respite from the psycho-pseudo-"Christians who shut down our good rock radio station and ran the citywide Ukropolis.
Finally! I store where poor people wont shop at.
Can't wait to buy crazy amounts of organic foods! This place sounds way better than WF anyway.
This is awesome news. Ellwood kicks ass. Better than a Whole Foods or a Trader Joes. Have also checked out the one in Richmond, and all I can say is, Columbia Heights is in for a treat.
Anything to ease the demand on the Giant and introduce options. Every time I go there it's like a fucking marathon. And God forbid you bring your own canvas bag... even when I used to be a grocery cashier I never felt the pressure to bag stuff so quickly. The lines are a crush at all times.
Although I must say - despite others' experiences and despite the eternally backed-up lines, the staff at CH Giant are almost always friendly to me. It's amazing what putting down your cellphone/iPod and offering a little "hey, how are ya?" will bring in return.
Bring it on!..if i could only put the new grocery store where that abandoned bi-rite is..then i'd be stoked. but i know there's other plans for that.
Also, that Target in PG is just like every other Target.
[17] guest
Yeah, except that the rocks in the PG Target rock garden are glued down!
I made the mistake of questioning why CH getting both a Marshalls and a Ross was a positive development -- just as I would question both a Best Buy and a Circuit City -- in the last DCist debate on the subject. I was immediately pilloried by other commenters for being a racist gentrifier and, more amusingly, a property owner.
I'm not sure when the latter became an insult, but I imagine it's supposed to conjure up images of cigar-chomping, monocle-wearing real estate speculators. I moved to CH when I was making less than $30,000, don't smoke, and have mediocre health insurance. Needless to say, I rent.
we rent. not sure we're staying.... especially when all this finally opens up.... I can tollerate CH better than the materialistically driven parts of the dc metro area.... Not that this particular part of dc is THAT much better...
Perhaps I'm just not well suited for DC. I'd much rather be skiing/snowboarding more, commuting less, and putting up with fewer oblivious, inconsiderate, racist/anti-racist, "new" vs. "old" , gentrifiers....or just people who aren't enjoying their lives....
besides, I'm probably much younger than the majority of you, making WAY more money, living in the phattest penthouse loft in the city, driving my fancy ass car from block to block...ha. right.
[19]
Or a Trader Joe's and Whole Foods, a CVS and Rite Aid, Target and Wal Mart, a Ben & Jerry's and Maggie Moo's. It's redundancy, and I doubt competition would drive those corporate-steered prices down any. Having one is cool. Having both is ridiculous and I was always perplexed as to why both Marshalls and Ross coexist right next to each other at PG.
I first assumed that bringing a yippie 'natural foods' grocery would alleviate the pressure on the overcrowded CH Giant, but in all actuality it probably would draw more people who normally wouldn't venture into the "ghetto" for groceries. I wonder if it would even help the crowding at all. So forget the bourgie stores. Instead they should bring in a Safeway or Shoppers (do they even have Shoppers in the District?)
adubyailkinson
I hear that Boulder, CO is nice this time of year.
I used to live down the street from Ellwood Thompson's, and now I'm a couple blocks away from DC USA. In the store's favor, I'll say they're community-oriented, they make a point of hiring friendly, knowledgeable, and ridiculously good-looking people, and they're probably good employers. Also, if you're looking for, say, tea tree oil or vegan butter, it's the place to go.
But yeah, ten bucks for a bag of organic, locally-grown oranges? I couldn't afford it then, and I can't really afford it now. And I'm a DINK anglo gentrifier. I haven't been in Columbia Heights very long, but I'm not sure how much market demand there really is for something like Ellwood's in the neighborhood.
DCFist- Boulder would be so nice.... :) I'd go for that.
This would be awesome. I don't know why people were pushing for a big corporate chain like WholeFoods when we could be getting a Yes or MOMs or something. MOMs is awesome. I would be very excited to see an Ellwood's in CH - I'd never go to WholeWallet again.
why hasn't the site been updated today?
People. Stop glorifying Yes! Organic Market. Their bread is stale, their produce cant compete with Giant, and their selection of so called organic dry and frozen goods is almost similar to the organic aisle of a nonorganic major supermarket.
It's really no different than a small Korean owned grocery store that upgrades it's interior to give the appearance of freshness and quality for new, higher income neighbors.
Well, it’s a start, but I’ll probably just keep renting out the place in Columbia Heights and keep living in DuPont. Columbia Heights just isn’t worth the crime, the cockroaches, or all the winos passed out on the sidewalks.
Not that DuPont is much better, but at least our winos just piss on the sidewalk and then go pass out in DuPont circle where all they can do is annoy the young liberals who have nothing better to do than write on the sidewalk about not shaving their legs.
Let's all queue up for guilt-free lettuce!
Guest 28, get over yourself. There are plenty other cities in the country that would be more than happy to have you, I'm sure, since the wino and cockroach infestation in DC makes it apparently uninhabitable to you.
i love winos.
they grill up tender and are super tatsy, after marinating for so long.
number 28. what a weird thing to say. creepy.
An organic grocery store is to heaven as big box stores and DC USA is to hell.
well obviously all the yuppies and white neo liberals will love some new 'eco friendly organic' market.
everyone who reads these fucking blogs are straight yuppies..
tired of all your self important rants.
Hopefully the dork I saw recently at Giant who whipped his Iphone out in line and started blabbing in a loud voice will move his shopping over to this new store.
fyi, I received this from Ellwood Thompson's when I emailed them encouraging to open in CH:
From us to you....
Ellwood Thompson's has been overwhelmed with support from Columbia Heights residents as well as others in DC's other outstanding communities. Thank you all very much! An update in our search is that we are currently very interested in the DC USA development nearing completion on 14th Ave. We encourage any support that the neighborhood's interested residents can provide??
We would like to explain our store concept a little clearer since there have been a lot of comparisons to other Natural Markets in the area. Ellwood Thompson's is a full-service Natural/Organic Market that does not sell any products that contain artificial flavors, colors or preservatives. Our products contain no hydrogenated oils, parabens, high fructose corn syrup or transfats.
The store is approximately 15,000 SF and we're stewards of local farming and merchants (often working directly with the farm). Quality is top priority and sampling is encouraged. We have a full-service meat case (free-range varieties) as well as a deli case/hot bar and a health and beauty section. I hope this information is helpful in providing a snapshot of what Ellwood's has to offer Columbia Heights. For additional information, please visit our soon-to-be redesigned website at http://www.ellwoodthompsons.com
Many thanks,
Ryan Youngman CEO,
Ellwood Thompson's