Viability of an All-Veg Market?
One of our readers wrote to me this comment:
Ben,I have a question. I'm currently in the planning stages of a vegetarian market and kitchen. Would you, and do you think your friends and readers would, patronize a totally veg (vegan deli) grocery. With a (vegan) bakery and (non-vegan) coffee bar? Even if it meant going out of your way. I've gotten a lot of response from people along the lines of, "Yeah, I would shop a veg market...if it were in my neighborhood." I guess to them a meat market isn't a big deterrent. For me, it is. I need input from other, vocal vegetarians.
Thanks so much,
Jennifer Garcia
I think it's a great idea, but there is some competition. I live in north Austin right now, but I try to make it to the UT area for regular trips to Wheatsville. They do a pretty good job of being very veggie-friendly with only a small meat presence in their store. However, if you were geographically far from Wheatsville, I think you could pull in a lot of people that wouldn't want to go that distance on a regular basis.
What do you think? Feel free to comment here.
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Well, as a pescaterian and former ovo/lacto, I likely wouldn't go out of my way unless the selection was superior to the more convenient places. The prices would also have to be competitive. I'll pay a little more for some variety, but I'll just do without before paying $7 a pack for some veggie cold cuts.
Having said that, Mr. Natural does some good business, so I could be wrong. Maybe the strict vegans out there are more willing to go farther since they have a smaller selection available to them.
I like the relaxed feeling I get when I'm in a vegetarian restaurant and I could theoretically order anything on the menu. However, all-vegetarian grocery stores are probably going to run too high on price.
I buy a lot of grocery store brand generics in things like orange juice and cereal, and I can't get anything like that even at Wheatsville - let alone an all-veg store. My ideal all-veg store would actually be something like HEB without the meat!
So while I might go to an all-veg store if I didn't have to drive all over town to get to it, I can't say I would make it my regular stop.
I know I'm commenting on my own article, but Ms. Particular's comment reminded me of my experience in Collegedale, Tennessee. That's a small town that's home of the McKee baking company, producers of Little Debbies. The town is also a strong Seventh Day Adventist community, and part of their teachings is vegetarianism. They've got a Village Market that's an all-vegetarian grocery store, and I love visiting it. There's a great deli and it's so nice not having to look at ingredients. They not only stock traditional vegetarian brands but also cherry pick the veggie items from lots of "normal" brands. They also do bulk purchases and have discounts for buying lots of items.
Price would be the major factor for my partner and I. Like was said previously, the ideal would be a veggie HEB.
I LIVE ABOUT AN HOUR FROM THE VILLAGE MARKET IN COLLEGEDALE TENNESSEE AND BECAUSE OF THE VARIETY AND THE PRODUCTS THAT THEY CARRY I TRAVEL THERE EVERY OTHER WEEK. I BUY FOR 2 OTHER FRIENDS ALSO WHO GO THERE ON THE OPPOSITE WEEKS AND PURCHASE FOR ME ALSO. IF THE STORE IS WORTH IT PEOPLE WILL TRAVEL IF NEEDED. GOOD LUCK.