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Pearl Marketplace At Midtown: Multifamily At 3120 Smith St.


DrLan34

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2 minutes ago, DrLan34 said:

I saw on Instagram that the Whole Foods has a November 7th opening date.

 

Any readers here plan to be a regular here? Asking because I am near the new Washington Ave HEB and I plan to be there a lot.

 

I hope both do brisk business and prove this concept works in Houston.

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59 minutes ago, Avossos said:

 

Any readers here plan to be a regular here? Asking because I am near the new Washington Ave HEB and I plan to be there a lot.

 

I hope both do brisk business and prove this concept works in Houston.

 

I think the new HEB on Washington will do great, but in my opinionWhole Foods just isn't worth it in Houston. Its  value proposition compared to Central Market is extremely low. Heck, I can get 90% of my weekly groceries at Central Market for the same price I’d pay at HEB. It’s only that 10% of items that I’m better off buying at HEB for a lower price. Whole Foods is a lot more expensive than Central Market.

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I mean, the performance of Whole Foods stores in the city would seem to disagree with you. I know when I worked there, the Kirby store was the #2 performing store in the country, though that was a while back.

 

I think this will be an extremely convenient location for a lot of people. I have zero concerns about how successful it will be.

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2 hours ago, Avossos said:

 

Any readers here plan to be a regular here? Asking because I am near the new Washington Ave HEB and I plan to be there a lot.

 

I hope both do brisk business and prove this concept works in Houston.

 

The WF is closer to my house, but the new HEB on 288 will be on my route to/from work so I plan on utilizing it.

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53 minutes ago, Texasota said:

I mean, the performance of Whole Foods stores in the city would seem to disagree with you. I know when I worked there, the Kirby store was the #2 performing store in the country, though that was a while back.

 

I think this will be an extremely convenient location for a lot of people. I have zero concerns about how successful it will be.

 

Would have to agree with this. An industry friend worked on/is working on a building that will/does contain a whole foods and he said including them in a build is a massive headache. They need all these advance metrics to judge whether the business will be successful. Just having a certain amount of people in the area is like the lowest hurdle. They look at traffic patterns, street traffic, rent growth, current rents, 5 year outs for a bunch of metrics on the type of resident currently in the area, debt in the area, etc. If they built there, it means they've vetted the area for a loooong time. I'm sure HEB does the same. If either builds, they will be successful, it just a question of how successful.

 

His exact words about this project was that the WF is "transformative" for the area, because the clientele and inevitable foot traffic will attract other businesses. But also expressed surprise that Pearl convinced them of the build.

Edited by X.R.
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3 hours ago, clutchcity94 said:

 

I think the new HEB on Washington will do great, but in my opinionWhole Foods just isn't worth it in Houston. Its  value proposition compared to Central Market is extremely low. Heck, I can get 90% of my weekly groceries at Central Market for the same price I’d pay at HEB. It’s only that 10% of items that I’m better off buying at HEB for a lower price. Whole Foods is a lot more expensive than Central Market.

 

I have never been to any of the Whole Foods when there weren't lots of customers - I don't think the new one(s) will have any problem attracting people

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4 hours ago, clutchcity94 said:

 

I think the new HEB on Washington will do great, but in my opinionWhole Foods just isn't worth it in Houston. Its  value proposition compared to Central Market is extremely low. Heck, I can get 90% of my weekly groceries at Central Market for the same price I’d pay at HEB. It’s only that 10% of items that I’m better off buying at HEB for a lower price. Whole Foods is a lot more expensive than Central Market.

As a Midtown resident for five years, it seems to me that the main concerns of shoppers in this neighborhood are quality and convenience. Comparison shopping doesn't seem to be as important to a young crowd with a generous disposable income.
The Whole Foods will certainly cost more than Disco Kroger or Fiesta, but may not be much more than the Midtown Randall's (and with better selection and quality).

5 hours ago, Avossos said:

 

Any readers here plan to be a regular here? Asking because I am near the new Washington Ave HEB and I plan to be there a lot.

 

I hope both do brisk business and prove this concept works in Houston.

I'm certainly going to give WF a try. It will be a welcome option for some specialty items, and a good bakery can be worth making a special trip.
Will it take the place of Disco Kroger and Fiesta? Not on my budget. 

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35 minutes ago, dbigtex56 said:

As a Midtown resident for five years, it seems to me that the main concerns of shoppers in this neighborhood are quality and convenience. Comparison shopping doesn't seem to be as important to a young crowd with a generous disposable income.
The Whole Foods will certainly cost more than Disco Kroger or Fiesta, but may not be much more than the Midtown Randall's (and with better selection and quality).

I'm certainly going to give WF a try. It will be a welcome option for some specialty items, and a good bakery can be worth making a special trip.
Will it take the place of Disco Kroger and Fiesta? Not on my budget. 

 

Do you ever fear parking your car and leaving it alone while shopping at that Fiesta? Serious question.

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1 minute ago, clutchcity94 said:

Do you ever fear parking your car and leaving it alone while shopping at that Fiesta? Serious question.

 

Never. 
I don't own a car.
More seriously, I've never seen broken glass in the Fiesta parking lot. it's exposed and has a fair amount of people coming and going, and I think they have a guard.
If I did own a car I'd be concerned about on-street parking in Midtown. As a pedestrian, I see a disturbing amount of broken glass in my travels.

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2 minutes ago, samagon said:

I have never had a problem at Fiesta.

 

Granted, I've only stopped at the midtown location twice. The Wayside Fiesta is closer to my home, so I go there. Never had a problem.

My guess is the Fiesta on the North Freeway at Airline Drive is the one most likely to have parking lot mischief because it is so easy to get away from the property on the access road or Airline. In any case, do not let your guard down.

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I drive by the new Whole Foods on my way home from work (being a Prime member  with their C.C. and the extra discounts help this)and will definitely stop by occasionally, may not be my primary grocery store because I'm partial to the Montrose HEB but also shop Montrose Kroger for it's close by convenience to my condo.

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15 hours ago, samagon said:

I have never had a problem at Fiesta.

 

Granted, I've only stopped at the midtown location twice. The Wayside Fiesta is closer to my home, so I go there. Never had a problem.

 

I like Fiesta. The one by NRG is huge and has a great selection of international foods. The Wayside location I have been to many more times when I used to work over there. It is a lot smaller and is like the small Kroger off Polk. It serves it's purpose but needs more.

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2 hours ago, phillip_white said:

 

The Chronicle says they opened at 8AM this morning. Looking forward to seeing their offerings.

 

It said it will open at 8AM on November 7th. Looks like they waited to do an official press release until exactly 1 month before.

 

https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Midtown-Whole-Foods-sets-opening-date-Nov-2019-14497915.php 

 

"The high-end grocer will launch at 515 Elgin Street at 8 a.m. on Nov. 7, according to a Monday release."

Edited by DrLan34
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14 minutes ago, DrLan34 said:

 

It said it will open at 8AM on November 7th. Looks like they waited to do an official press release until exactly 1 month before.

 

https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Midtown-Whole-Foods-sets-opening-date-Nov-2019-14497915.php 

 

"The high-end grocer will launch at 515 Elgin Street at 8 a.m. on Nov. 7, according to a Monday release."

 

I swear I know how to read... probably just reading what I wanted to see 😭

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Quote

a full-service butcher and bakery—but it will be the first to offer Briggo, a “robot barista” that produces customized drinks on-demand via mobile app or touchscreen kiosk.

 

https://communityimpact.com/local-news/houston/heights-river-oaks-montrose/news/2019/10/09/midtown-whole-foods-november-briggo-robot-barista/

 

cTIXoiz.gif

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1 hour ago, Luminare said:

 

It's basically a long-ass kiosk that makes a coffee when you order it. They have one on the mezzanine level of the George R. Brown near the Marriott skywalk. I'm not sure if it's any good, but there was a line of people waiting to pay tribute to their coffee-serving robotic overlord.

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If anyone wanted to go for the opening, you can get some swag.

 

Quote

Hey, neighbor. We’re excited to announce our doors are opening on Thurs‌day, Novem‌ber 7, and we want you to be there! The doors officially open at 8 am, but come early for music and complimentary coffee and snacks.* Be one of the first 200 customers in line when the store opens and you'll receive a token valid for a Whole Foods Market Midtown Houston tote bag and a "Secret Saver" card valued between $5 and $100.** Bring your family and friends — we’ll see you there!

 

Kind of interested, so might walk over. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I thought I might be one of the first 200 in line to get that insulated bag. Alas a conflict came up..............sigh

 

Wont get to experience the whole “kazillion people in line” Kazillion people trying to check out at the same time not to mention everyone looking and exiting  parking at the same time.......oh my

 

so how was it?

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