“I don’t know about the Whole Foods parking lot,” writes a Swamplot reader, “but it’s certainly getting real on D’Amico!” Here’s a photo sent in with that report, taken just past the American General Center garage north of the new store on D’Amico St., shortly after 4 pm. But there was plenty of neighborhood-street spillover earlier, too: “Around lunch time, if there was a curb there was a car . . . on both sides along D’Amico, bumper to bumper from the light to just under the garage.” How long will this sort of thing keep up? Our tipster imagines AIG American General will soon put out no-parking signs “along any parts of the street that is their property, such as along the entrance to a parking lot across from whole foods and by the garage. Other areas on the campus have no parking signs where people tend to stop. I know you can’t park within a certain distance to a stop sign, does the same apply to stop lights? If so, some people risked a ticket just to get some groceries! It would be cheaper to pay for parking in the AIG lot or the garage visitor parking.” And no rush, folks. Those free chicken breast coupons are good until next Tuesday.
- Previously on Swamplot: Opening Day: It’s Getting Real Crowded at the Montrose Whole Foods Parking Lot, Beer, Wine, Art, and BBQ on Tap: Here’s Your New Whole Foods Market, Montrose, This Kind of Whole Foods Thing, Getting Real on Waugh at West Dallas This Weekend,
Photo: Swamplot inbox
You would be correct about the AG complex tightening up the parking sitch.
The head Cushman Wakefield guy on site was on my floor today with a photographer getting aerial shots of the lot and surrounds. I think they’ll let another day or two slid, then get down to business.
As for stop lights, yes there were people parked and blocking the right turn as close at 10 feet to the intersection all day. Where’s a traffic cop when you need one? Oh, right.
I watched some toolio attempt to park his King Ranch 4×4 on the grass inside the wee traffic circle on the access lane. It was pretty funny watching a cart collector kid wave him off like a bug.
I live within walking distance of the WF Kirby location and for years, we’ve endured the hassles of the WF employees parking their “art cars” (purple and yellow, Jesus figurine man I’m looking at you) in our residents only spaces and all the WF packaging left behind as people cram their organic WF scones in their mouths and throw their bakery bag out their car window before screeching off to their day job. D’Amico Street- welcome to our, uh, world.
Stopped by late this afternoon. Whole lotta rubbernecking and “country come to town” going on. I was invited to have a drink at the wine bar! Scandalous! Wonder if the new Walmart will garner the same reaction?
Lindsey, I hope for you that the montrose WF draws some of the crowd from the Kirby location. I suspect everyone from the Heights and RO (and obviously Montrose) areas will frequent the new store– in fact, I know have no reason to go to the Kirby location. My assumption is that WF will take notice and add another location, EaDo, Heights and the West End would gladly welcome it!
Shows you how localized the US ‘bad economy’ is. When you drive to a “high end” new food market and there is no parking. Or go to an equivalent, Central Market and walk blocks to the front door. Or go to a fairly “high end” mall like the Galleria, and it’s a zoo with the freeways backed up around the area… Or go to many good restaurants and have a huge wait… It makes you say “What bad economy?”
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I just got back from Vegas (another ‘bad’ place, they say) and it was packed. The clubs, restaurants, hotel itself. Lines everywhere… This is a bad economic area? (I do admit that housing has taken a beating in Vegas. But that’s part due to the housing market which got way way over-price and is now being corrected, and part due to the fact it’s hard for almost anyone — including me — to get a home loan today)
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According to the media it seems we’re a nation of soup kitchens. Maybe in some places, but not in Houston (at least the little part I call home)
It’s getting real in the Whole Foods Parking Lot!
Calm down, rubes!
I know WF is a thrilling culture shock, but it will be there for quite awhile. No need to riot.
Kinda cute; used to live near that good-grocery deprived area.
Wonder how Kroger looked yesterday.. can’t say they don’t deserve to be beaten out by an actual grocery store.
Just as craptacular as always (Krogers)..
I drove right past the new WF, said (**) it and went on to the Kirby WF, where I was reminded why I generally don’t shop there in the first place…and then on to the much better selection and generally lower prices of Central Market (OK, they don’t have organic toenail clippers, but still…)
I agree with Cody’s comments. Every time you turn on the news you hear “bad economy this, bad economy that”. But to see this kind of traffic for a high-end store’s opening does beg the question, “what bad economy?”. maybe it’s a positive sign of things to come.
You fail to mention we are a major player in the energy sector here in Texas and more specifically Houston. Energy is a staple, a real need for today’s lifestyles, which in turn brings a lot money, people, etc. here. We live in a little bit of an economic bubble here in Houston, but don’t mistake our economy for that of the nation as a whole. A little too simplistic, or akin to comparing apples to oranges.
The economy does not effect the WF consumer. They have the disposable income to spend. It’s a grand opening, so people want to be the first to tell their friends and score free samples. Women go there to be seen and men go there to hunt (not for groceries) WF sucks and it’s all about Krogering!
People are making judgments about the economy by surveying the shopping locales of the high wage earners? Really? Do you even know where the poor and lower middle class live?
Didn’t think so.
Phew. I lived in Hyde Park…until last week. Thank God for good timing because I do not have the patience to wait for this mess. Once the traffic dies down and the hype goes away, I will probably regret moving and missing out on the opportunity to walk to a Whole Foods.
Personally I go to WF for Seeduction bread and tomatoes that I won’t mistake for one of the dogs’ Kong balls. Between my Agent Orange thumb and the squirrels, it would cost me more to grow one decent tomato that to buy a bushel of WF heirlooms.
RE: Cody
It’s springtime for rich people! Everybody else is poorer because rich people keep getting better at gaming the system to make themselves richer. They’re getting more of the pie.. so that they can afford excessive cars, fancy-ass groceries, and multiple wives when the first one gets old! Meanwhile the middle and lower classes (both here and the ones making junk for us overseas) get less and less value for more and more work. Thanks rich people! Hope you enjoy the new wine bar!
I’m not a rich person, but I generally disagree with the ‘pie’ concept.
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While I do believe that it’s better to have policies that grow the pie vs. government rules to steal from some to share the pie (so the outcome is ‘fair’), I tend to believe there is no pie at all.
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Having a ‘pie’ in the first place infers that society owns wealth as a collective, and should set ways to grow or share. This causes the wrong arguments, and ignores that fact that there is no wealth at all except for that which is actually created by people and owned by those same people.
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And that’s my random thoughts on wealth in reply to your comment since I have no idea what you were trying to say, or if you were trying to be funny, sarcastic, or serious :)