With tons of gourmet and prepared offerings, as well as extensive meat, produce and seafood sections, Whole Foods remains one of the area's most sought-after - and so far, elusive - retailers. The company's stores elsewhere are veritable palaces of food, and it has long had a presence in other parts of the Carolinas, with locations in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area, Winston-Salem, Greenville, S.C. and Charleston, S.C. It also recently bought an established natural grocer in Asheville, and a new Raleigh location is also in the works, according to Whole Foods' website.
The company announced plans to open its first area store more than five years ago, but a proposed location in Elizabeth fell through, and another proposed location at Sharon and Colony roads in the SouthPark area is also off the drawing board and was removed from Whole Foods' list of stores in development. The economy has played a role in the lag, as the company - like many others - has pulled back on new store openings across the board. Whole Foods has also encountered difficulty finding the right location in Charlotte, said spokeswoman Darrah Horgan, who has been kindly fielding my "When are you coming to Charlotte?" queries for several years now.
"Charlotte has certainly been a challenge for us, as far as real estate is concerned," she said in an e-mail. "We are still pursuing stores there, but nothing has solidified."
In fact, she noted, Whole Foods hasn't opened any new stores in the South since November 2007, though there are three on the horizon for 2011 - the aforementioned Raleigh store, and locations in suburban Atlanta and Nashville.
Still, Horgan said, Charlotte remains on the radar screen: "We're still looking, and still excited and interested in bringing a Whole Foods Market to Charlotte!"
So, where could it go? I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts.