Not only no GreenWise, but a farewell to Wild Oats

For Vero oceanside foodies who dream of living near a natural food supermarket like Whole Foods, the news this summer just keeps getting worse.

First, don’t hold your breath for Publix to open a GreenWise Market in the empty building that housed the old Publix on Miracle Mile. It simply isn’t going to happen.

But there’s more bad news. Whole Foods, which earlier this year bought up its smaller Wild Oats rival, not only isn’t coming to Vero but decided to close the Wild Oats store in Melbourne – the closest natural food market to us – effective June 1.

The Wild Oats in Melbourne wasn’t great, but it was less than 40 miles away. Now, we have a 70-mile drive to Palm Beach Gardens where the nearest Whole Foods and the first and so far only GreenWise Market are located about a quarter-mile from each other.

The news about GreenWise not coming to Vero Beach is particularly disappointing, since we were told a year ago that a GreenWise would be open on the Miracle Mile in mid-2008. According to the leasing agent, Harry Zucker of Comnet Realty, “we’ve just been told by Publix corporate they will not be opening a GreenWise in Vero Beach after all.”

That turned out to be news both to the store manager of the new Miracle Mile Publix (have you met anyone who likes this store?) as well as Eric Justin, manager of the Palm Beach Gardens GreenWise.

“We’re still working out the bugs,” Justin told me, and from all accounts there are plenty of bugs to be worked out. “Vero won’t open until after Boca, Tampa and Coral Springs.” Sounds like Publix’ left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing, and my guess is there’s nothing doing at all.

But if you are a glass-half-full person, Whole Foods, the darling of the natural food supermarket chains, has not necessarily ruled out Vero Beach as a future store location.

Whole Foods Regional Marketing Director for Florida, Russ Benblatt, claims that their new store site selections are very often driven by their website requests. This is where YOU come into the picture.

If you are as eager as I am to see a Whole Foods Market in Vero, go to www.wholefoodsmarket.com and click on customer service, then general feedback.

Every request is read daily, they assure me, and when they see a trend, they pay close attention. There are 14 Whole Foods in Florida to date and 4 more under construction in Jacksonville, Wellington, Orlando, and Naples.

Meanwhile, in this column, I will in future issues try to share with you some tips on finding the fresh, natural and organic local foods that I became obsessed with while living in Vermont before moving to Vero.

Independent, natural and organic markets abound in that neck of the woods. An organic, hydroponic, heirloom tomato grower was within walking distance of my farmhouse. Vermont was where I truly understood the concept of being a “locavore.”

And even without a Whole Foods or a GreenWise, there are many great options for those looking for “fresh” and “local” in Vero as well.

I will leave you with one that particularly amused me -- The Shrimp Pimp.

No I’m not kidding and we’ll always remember the name. They sell wild Florida shrimp (which were very good when I tried them) out of a truck on US 1 just north of the bridge between Sebastian and Micco each Friday, Saturday and Sunday, offer FREE delivery to Vero, and you get your 10th pound of shrimp free. Go to www.theshrimppimp.biz for details.

Now there’s something I would never have found in the icy, cold tundra of northern Vermont.