Beacon St Foodmaster to become Whole Foods

[wintahill.livejournal.com]

I know this was posted and discussed here a while back when the Globe ran an article speculating that Johnnies Foodmaster was going to sell some of their stores to Whole Foods. According to the Globe today it is a done deal and the Somerville Beacon St store is one of the ones that is being sold. The Alewife Brook Parkway store is not affected though. Looks like the store will be shut down by November 30th for remodeling according to the article.

http://www.boston.com/businessupdates/2012/10/26/whole-foods-agrees-buy-leases-for-six-johnnie-foodmaster-locations/ZjNnbbzoK8efr3RaEH4FFL/story.html?comments=all#readerComm

Comments

[aynatt.livejournal.com]

Closing at the end of this month! That sucks. Damn!

[ron_newman]

Next month (November). Still sucks.

[squirrelitude]

I'm not surprised the Alewife Brook Parkway isn't affected -- the Mystic WF is quite close by. I would have liked having one even closer to me, but I know a number of folks will be relieved that that one isn't being converted.

[ron_newman]

The Prospect Street Whole Foods (one of the original Bread & Circus stores) is quite close to the Beacon Street Foodmaster, so I don't see why this makes sense for Whole Foods either.

[bettyw.livejournal.com]

I'm wondering whether this portends the end of the Prospect St one, especially now that they no longer have use of the large gated lot across from Lyndell's/Carberry's nights & weekends so the parking is more limited.

[ron_newman]

Who's using that lot now instead? Or is it being built upon?

[bettyw.livejournal.com]

Apparently whoever uses it via gate-card access during the day decided not to open it after hours anymore - the signs about it said it took effect last January, I think. Also the lot on the corner of Bishop Allen and Prospect. I haven't seen any obvious signs that other plans are afoot for the lots.

[codeman38.livejournal.com]

Personally, the one that surprises me is Arlington, what with the Medford and Woburn locations both so close.

(To be fair, the location on Mass Ave will definitely be more convenient for those who, like myself, use the #77 bus...but still...)

[ron_newman]

The six Foodmasters are closing "before" (not necessarily "on") November 30. They will reopen as Whole Foods "by the fall of 2013". That's a long time to spend remodeling a grocery store!

What's left of Foodmaster after these six close doesn't really look to me like a viable chain: Alewife, Salem Street in Medford, Whitman, and Lynn. Just four stores, geographically dispersed. I question how long these will stay around.

[littlecitynames.livejournal.com]

Despite what people said in the last entry about the Alewife Brook Parkway one being unpopular, anecdotally I will say that whenever I go in there it seems quite crowded. I think it'll survive, if the owners still want it to.

[nurrynur.livejournal.com]

People who live on clarendon hill and don't have cars can walk to the foodmaster. so I think it will continue to have lots of business until/unless a new grocery store in the same 1 or 2 block area opens up... or if the towers got demolished.