We were at the new Whole Foods in the Hill Center at 8 am yesterday, many more people were there than I expected. The line doubled around the corner for the free breakfast.  After the bread breaking (Whole Foods’ way of doing a ribbon-cutting), we were the first in the door. Everything was as I expected from the other Whole Foods locations. One standout is the Olive Oil/Balsamic Vinegar tasting station, bottles line the shelves and slices of bread are supplied for you to try almost any vinegar or oil available.

One thing that I really liked was finding Organic Valley Unsweetened Soymilk and finally not having to purchase Silk any longer. I even spoke with one lady for a few minutes and noticed she had about 10 half-gallon cartons of Silk in her cart I told her about Dean Foods which owns Silk.   I saw her soon after putting all of her Silk back on the shelf, right beside the Silk representative that was there! I get laughs in silly, vindictive ways.

I spoke with Laura Button, owner of Journey To Bliss Foods, who was giving out some great samples of her products. My daughter loved the Carrot Cake.

For those wondering, plenty of local products can be found throughout the store and a brochure is even provided to give more information.

One thing I saw that was unlike any other Whole Foods was the cafe was located outside of the cash registers. As well, there was far more outside seating available than I have seen at other locations.

When we were leaving (after returning for the third time) we walked by a lady who was complaining to management about the traffic and parking situation. She went on and on and just would take any explanation as good enough. One management member even walked her through the parking garage to help her understand the best way to enter and leave. We made it a point ot walk up to the same management and thank them for bringing Whole Foods here and told them we had zero complaints. My mother said she went back inside 30 minutes later and the same lady was complaining to someone else about the same thing.

Of course, this will be my new hangout when I have nothing better to do.

I think I read at least one letter a week to the editor of The Tennessean voicing desire for a Trader Joe’s location in Nashville or just the outright prediction that it is happening but the time is not known the place is not known and the reason they know this information is unknown. People claim the reason it won’t come is the inability to sell wine by Tennessee liquor laws, some say it can happen anyway and cite other states as proof. Maybe there are other reason keeping Trader Joe’s out of this area, it is not like Tennessee is the last state in the US without a store. What’s keeping them out of Colorado? Boulder sounds like a dead-on perfect location. How about Maine?   I love Trader Joe’s, enough to make trips to Atlanta to pick up vitals and a location in this area would be most welcomed by me but I am afraid it’s not going to happen.

There’s a lot of talk recently with Whole Foods opening its first location in Nashville with wanting a Trader Joe’s to come here. For those who have never been to a Trader Joe’s you will find a plethora of goodies not easily found at other groceries at very low prices. There frozen and prepared foods are outstanding and they have a wide selection of cooking condiments, pastas, breads and snacks. Each trip I make I stock up on their super-cheap super-good organic ketchup, organic peanut butter and Joe’s Os for my daughter.