For those of you who didn
’t know, a second Safeway is supposed to be built in Tennant
Station. It’s my understanding that this is where the first Safeway
in town stood, then closed and moved to Dunne Avenue. I’m wondering
why a second store is opening in town, and so are a lot of people.
Is Morgan Hill lacking easy ac
cess to Safeway?
For those of you who didn’t know, a second Safeway is supposed to be built in Tennant Station. It’s my understanding that this is where the first Safeway in town stood, then closed and moved to Dunne Avenue.
I’m wondering why a second store is opening in town, and so are a lot of people. Is Morgan Hill lacking easy access to Safeway? Don’t get me wrong, I shop at Safeway occasionally, but I would think if the city were going to allow another grocery store in town, they would attempt to think outside the box and give us something new, different, innovative … but I guess not. For a town that prides itself on the visioning process, there doesn’t seem to be much vision at all.
Enough already … a group of citizens in town, myself included, have started a letter writing campaign to Whole Foods Market and Trader Joe’s hoping to convince them to open stores here in Morgan Hill. Many people have talked about how much they want one, or both, of these stores to come here, but I don’t know if there’s really been an organized effort. Well, now we’re trying to exert the effort.
Trader Joe’s seems like a perfect fit for Morgan Hill, and actually, so does Whole Foods. For those of you who don’t know, Whole Foods niche is organic, natural foods, free of chemicals. I believe all the grocers in Morgan Hill offer some, but not many, organic or natural food, but not to the extent that WFM does. Its web site states it pretty well: “We strive to offer the highest quality, least processed, most flavorful and naturally preserved foods. Why? Because food in its purest state – unadulterated by artificial additives, sweeteners, colorings and preservatives – is the best tasting and most nutritious food available.”
If it were up to me, I would put a Whole Foods Market somewhere along the Cochrane corridor, for a couple of reasons, as follows:
• Lack of other grocery store in that area: There are large grocers both at Dunne and Tennant, but Cochrane, now a main thoroughfare in town, lacks one. With all the residential building that has and is going in, they are remarkably underserved when it comes to getting groceries into the house. And who wants to drive halfway across town all the time just to pick up a half-gallon of milk?
• High volume of businesses in the area: What does this have to do with it? WFM has a fantastic deli. Now I know that plenty of people like to go out for lunch, but there are times that you only can run out to pick up a quick bite, and bring it back to the office. WFM serves up some of the freshest and tastiest sandwiches and deli salads that I have ever had. And not to denigrate fast food, but a Whole Foods lunch sure beats a burger, fries and coke, calorie-wise!
• Available space: I know nothing about how some of the land on Cochrane is zoned, but there were at least two tracts of land that might be perfect for such a store – the area bordered by Cochrane/Sutter/Jarvis/Butterfield on the south side of Cochrane or the land across from the Chevron, bordered by Cochrane and Madrone Parkway.
For this to work, anyone who is really interested needs to get out pen and paper and write a letter, send an email, or make a phone call. Here is the information on how to get in touch with Whole Foods about opening a store:
Email:ne***************@********ds.com Mail: Ron MegahanNorthern California Regional President Whole Foods Market, Northern Pacific Region 5980 Horton Street, Suite 200 Emeryville, CA 94608, (510) 428-7400, (510) 428-7410 fax
Trader Joe’s website does not have contact information but you can send letters to any store. The closest one is:Trader Joe’s Corporate Offices c/o Trader Joe’s 5985 Almaden Expressway, San Jose, CA 408-927-9091
I think that if enough people contact Whole Foods, we can convince them that Morgan Hill is the right place to build a store. I have heard rumors that Gilroy is vying for a Whole Foods Market there, but are we going to let another viable retail establishment go to Gilroy?
It’s about time that Morgan Hillites got up on their soapbox and made their voices heard about what type of retail they want in town. I am going to the City Council meeting on Wednesday, April 23, to speak during the public comment portion at the beginning of the meeting to let them know how I feel about a second Safeway, and what we are doing to try and convince TJ’s and WFM to come to town. If you are feeling the same way, why not come and join me, get a speaker card and join the effort. I look forward to seeing you there.
