Whole Foods is coming to Toledo.
And social media is exploding with positive commentary. Now, I identify with the positive outlook about this city, that it matters where you make it, that you will do better in Toledo. I live, work and play downtown. Revitalization is important for us to grow as a community.
But this news is upsetting, for more than one reason.
Whole Foods—or Whole Paycheck, as it’s commonly called—chose a location on Secor Rd. and Executive Pkwy., right next to Fresh Market, a store of similar ilk and similar wealthy target demographic. They could have gone anywhere, but they chose to go there. Why?
Our free market being what it is, maybe they just wanted to be close to their target demo. And let’s be blunt—out of our twenty-plus neighborhoods, nothing says “cumin-paprika-sprinkled apple-vegetable-chips for $30” like Ottawa Hills.
But if you go just around the corner on Secor Rd., you see—gasp—an organic, health food store. No, wait, two of them: Bassett’s Health Foods (in business 48 years) and Health Foods by Claudia (in business 16 years). Both of them are locally owned and operated businesses that will be directly threatened by Whole Foods’ presence.
This comes right after news that Phoenix Co-Op is being sued over something from 1995.
Sometimes, cheerleading is great. And in Toledo, we cheer loudly for even the small victories, things that the citizens of other cities might overlook as commonplace.
But other times, it’s good to consider the big picture. If we start to lose our local businesses in favor of the big boxes, we’re subscribing to an outdated corporate commerce model on one hand, and feeding the pockets and mouths of the 1% on the other.
