Nice to pop into one of these recently in suburban Chicago. I had no idea the company had sprouted so many locations in the past few years.
I first became acquainted with the chain in New Orleans, Mrs. Burgerdogboy and I were having kind of a funky / downlow Thanksgiving, and we wandered into the store and bought literally ‘handful-sized’ portions of things that interested us from the deli counters. It was a ‘tapas’ Thanksgiving as it were, and it’s a great memory.
I like Fresh Market better than Whole Foods, as it is small and easier to navigate. If I want gourmet offerings in a grand venue, my favorite is Central Market, with a half-dozen locations in Texas, and is part of the HEB chain.
In Minnesota, it’s Byerly’s. Here in Portland, we have several great local chains, like Zupan’s, and New Seasons.
I used to work with a lot of people from overseas, and they’d come over for business meetings, and always wanted to visit a grocery, amazed at the choices. Of course, there are hypermarkets everywhere today – I was at the grand opening of the first Sam’s Club in China years ago. I love these upscale markets, even though they are spendy. I’d rather have a few quality items from a store like this, than a basket full of groceries from a discount mart.
That’s a good memory – that Thanksgiving with Mrs Burgerdogboy. I hope we’ll get to share another one someday.