Fresh or Frozen

 Hello! This is a story that I wrote last year for my Principles of Journalism course. This story is about the then recently opened Whole Foods store in Rochester, NY. There was a lot of legal action between Whole Foods and Wegmans which delayed the opening of Whole Foods in Rochester. So this store opening was a major deal at the time. I wrote this store as an opinion piece, detailing my experience while I shopped at both Wegmans and Whole Foods. Ironically, I worked at Whole Foods almost a year after I wrote the story. 

After years of waiting, anticipation, and legal battles, the Whole Foods in Brighton, NY has finally been built. This is the first Whole Foods ever built in the Rochester area, and there has already been a craze for the new and organic grocery store. But is the excitement worth the wait?

April 23, 11 days after the grand opening, cars made laps around the building to find a parking spot, as nearly every spot was occupied. It has been almost two weeks since the organic grocery store opened and people are still eager to shop here.

Traffic was one of the main concerns when it came to the opening of the grocery store. Authorities were concerned about whether or not it could be easily accessible for not only customers but emergency services as well. According to Berkeley Brean on News 10 NBC, “There are two main concerns: having space to get ambulances and fire trucks to the plaza and traffic backing up on the highway.”

However, it may not have been as crowded compared to the first day. On opening day, according to the Whole Foods website, the first 500 customers at Whole Foods received a “Whole Foods Market tote bag and scratch-and-win Whole Foods Market gift cards.” Customers who shopped at Whole Foods on opening day also received other gifts, such as “giveaways, free samples, and music.”

If driving to Whole Foods is an issue for anyone, the RTS bus line 11 goes directly to Whole Foods. This makes it accessible for people who do not have reliable transportation to go to the grocery store.

This store has what you would expect from any grocery store. A deli, a buffet, a bakery, and even a sitting area. They played music as most stores do, but it seemed faint and hard to hear. The store as a whole seemed clean and well-kept. These amenities were refreshing to see, as the buffet offered organic food and the sitting area seemed relaxing to eat at.

The inside of the store is no different than the parking lot. It is safe to say that the inside of the store is overcrowded, as what seems like over a hundred people were shopping at this organic grocery store. Everyone was walking on top of each other, and there was barely any personal space.

The layout of the store seems to baffle some people. One customer said that “The layout is… different. I’m just going to have to get used to it.” The layout seemed like it was not planned out properly and it was a little impractical. 

Walking through certain aisles felt like a tight squeeze. Some aisles were barely able to fit two carts side by side. People had to wait in line just to grab something off of a shelf. 

Whole Foods has eight self-checkouts and it also has six registers. The checkout lines were long, making people flood into the already crowded aisles. As customers waited in line to cash out, other customers had to squeeze by them to get to the next aisle.

One cashier said, “Yeah, it's been like this since we opened. Hopefully, it dies down soon.” The checkout and bagging speed was quick. Unlike other grocery stores here in Rochester, there were baggers to help move the line along and provide assistance to the cashier.

While the quality of the food is amazing, is it worth the price? According to an article in the Democratic and Chronicle titled, Whole Foods opens in Brighton: Take a peek inside the store, by Gary Craig and Marica Greenwood it states that “The company said its food products do not contain hydrogenated fats, high-fructose corn syrup or other common flavors, colors, and sweeteners.”

Many people are coming to Whole Foods to buy healthy, organic, and farm-raised foods, so many people are willing to pay the price. Another customer said “I’ll probably come again. Maybe in a month or two. When, you know, it’s not busy.”

There are other grocery stores that offer healthy and organic food items, such as Trader Joe's, Wegmans, and Aldi. And while there are not as many healthy foods at these locations, they still exist. They are cheaper than the ones offered at Whole Foods, but is the quality just as good? 

Whether or not the food at Whole Foods is of high quality can be subjective. However many may agree that the experience while shopping can be less overstimulating when you go to a different grocery store. 

With bigger locations like Wegmans that offer a variety of options, many people may stick to places they are familiar with. Especially if there are similar quality food for cheaper prices.