Pfftt..this is exactly what Hosni Mubarak would say.

Can't wait! Great addition to JP

I have lived in JP for over 50 years and look forward to this new addition. Yes some things at Whole Foods are expensive but many items are reasonable and the produce is excellant. I shopped at Hi Lo a few times and it was dirty and smelly. I am glad the store is making an effort to hire the previous employees.

Hi-lo was run down but the products were there, the culture was there. Its been a place for Latinos and other ethnicities to shop for products from home at a reasonable price. If whole foods opens in that location it will completely change the fabric of the community. I'm not anti whole foods. I'm anti gentrification and the move of whole foods to the latin quarter will bring just that. Whole foods can sell latino products but one can only be naive to think they will be catering to the latino population from not only jamaica plain but all of boston. It is not filling a void it is just adding to the many wonderfull businesses that offer organic local products on centre st

I'm excited to have Whole Foods come to JP - for me it means that I won't have to drive to Brighton or Newton or now Dedham to get high quality produce at yes, more expensive than Harvest but as I said, better quality, and less expensive than City Feed altho that quality is usually pretty good but their selection is limited by their space. I also want to point out, as have others, that Whole Foods is coming to a neighborhood that was already being gentrified (see the new Canary Sq for hip upscale). I am sad that the Latino community is losing its big grocer but the Hi-Lo was preparing to close anyway so they sold their lease for a good price. And I do believe that Whole Foods will hire Hi-Lo workers and will carry requested products that meet their standards for high quality. So the community will eat better, people like me will drive less, the little bodegas have a grand opportunity here, and I do not think that despite Whole Foods being a chain that JP will allow other chains into the neighborhood.

Whole Foods Inc. is a heartless, union busting, transnational corporation greenwashing their way to a profit margin acceptable to their investors.

The facade of the building is not what is of concern to the members of the community who have worked, shopped for cultural staples, gossiped, grew up strolling the aisles, and breathed life into the surrounding neighborhood.

It is not about when you planned to go public. It is about the fact that if you do open a store in THAT location you will be destroying the corner stone of Boston's Latin Quarter.

Your marketeers are all too happy to point out to high end mall developers (see Legacy Place in Dedham) what a fine "anchor" store Whole Foods is, and that it will attract a flow of customers that other transnational chains will want a piece of. Hi-Lo created that flow for the businesses that now make up Hyde Square. Why are you leaving the "anchor" store angle out of your pitch to our neighborhood?

Yes, Knapp Foods was getting out of the business. Given notice this very resourceful neighborhood could have found a replacement that catered to the needs of Hi-Lo patrons.

If you had 5% of the heart your marketing claims you have you would have never thought twice of setting up shop in this location.

i have a simple question unrelated to all of the controversy: what will the traffic impact be?

I am looking forward to Whole Foods in JP. I think there will be benefits to other Hyde Square businesses as well.

As a senior citizen who moved to JP because I like the ambiance of the neighborhood, I say "Hurrah for the coming of Whole Foods." It's arrival reflects the change in the community. I am really tired of apologizing about "gentrification" as if it was some sort of blight. The the contrary, the change in population in JP that has been going on for many years has made the neighbnorhood safer to live in, and the middle-class people who have moved in AND the older population will benefit by having Whole Foods here.
And remember, Whole Foods did not force Hi Lo out of the neighborhood, so don't blame it for the loss of the filthy, smelly store. I am a grocer's daughter, and I have rarely seen such shamefully ill-kempt store.
Welcome Whole Foods!!!!!

I am really confused. So, a non-union store owned by a white guy from Newton who had such contempt for his Latino customers that he didn't think they deserved a clean store is a beautiful example of local JP culture.

And empty storefronts are better than gentrification. Because they're "authentic".

Nothing says "authentic Latino business of Jamaica Plain" like a company called "Knapp Foods." The president is Stephen Knapp of Natick. The treasurer: Michael Knapp of Natick. They clearly have deep ties to our community and culture!

Change is inevitable in our individual lives, as well as our community. I like to look at the opportunities change offers, HiLo had it's run and now it's time for something new.

I agree with James Morgan above - what about traffic impacts?

I wish Harvest had moved into this space rather than choosing to open to a new location in Fenway. Whole Foods is known for union busting and greenwashing, and for being far too expensive for this middle class latina to shop at regularly, among a host of other sins. Maybe they'll make an attempt to cater to JP's diverse population. I doubt said population will be able to afford it. And it really doesn't change the fact that a powerful corporation has moved to a neighborhood that's historically done very well keeping those beasts out. I know that seeing yet another empty storefront is in nobody's best interests, but is WF seriously the best we can do? Disappointing to say the least.

Lisa, of course WF isn't the "best" that we can do. There's lots more that can be done and WF opening in JP doesn't somehow make it impossible to do that work. Just like "hippies" got together and established food co-ops in the '60s and '70s so that fresh, local, organic food was available in their communities (giving rise to countless companies, including Whole Foods), the Latino residents of JP and our neighboring communities can get together and form buying clubs and co-ops to bring affordable traditional foods here. Just as JP is pressuring WF to serve our entire diverse community, so should we be pressuring Stop & Shop to clean up its JP store and do better. Hi Lo wasn't all things to all people and WF won't be, either. Stopping WF won't bring Hi Lo back. But given the support we've seen for Hi Lo since the closing was announced, working to bring an affordable, quality Latino market or co-op to JP seems like a pretty good idea and much more useful thing to be doing.

And did I miss something -- was there a union at Hi Lo?

Gretchen has got the right idea. A good example of a community coming together to help create a market is The Village Market in Roslindale Square. It took a few years of organizing, fundraising, and political mobilization, but the community was instrumental in creating that market. For those who want a community-oriented Latino market in JP, now is the time to organize. It will take some time -- all good things do. Until then, Whole Foods will hopefully provide good employment opportunities to the laid off Hi-Lo workers.

Also, as a frequent shopper at the Brighton WF, I can report that the store offers many affordable healthy food options and has a workforce as diverse as they come: old, young, white, black, Latino, Asian, African, pierced, un-pierced, immigrants from all continents (except Antarctica), etc. Is this something we progressives and radicals in JP are really against? I appreciate the richness of a fight against an upscale national food chain. But the battle against gentrification will not be won or lost at Whole Foods. There's more fruitful work to be done elsewhere in JP helping to address housing, youth, and employment opportunities.

Dear Residents of Jamaica Plain:

Whoops. A lot of you are really angry and making us look bad. It’s time that we share our spin – the first of many times we’ll have to do it.

HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED: We are really, really disappointed in the worker who leaked the news in order to expose our backroom deal. That was very disrespectful to you. We won’t admit that it was the backroom deal that was disrespectful to workers and to the community.

Ideally, we would have been able to spin the news our way. It is not our policy to talk with the community as a whole about moving in and to get feedback. We talk with select leaders and then announce our plans to the wider community without being open to changing our plans.

We don’t plan to change the building. After all, what we’re changing is the fabric of Jamaica Plain by greatly accelerating the gentrification here. We will pretend that the mural, awning, and clock are more important to the community than the larger issue of
gentrification.

HI-LO STAFF: We hired an outspoken employee to blunt criticism. We can only guarantee “interviews” to others because we don’t trust their years of experience in the community. After all, it’s an issue of following a standard hiring process. Except that we’ll bypass that process to hire a few employees right away for PR purposes.

(continued in next post...)

(continued from last post...)

NEW HIRING: Renovations will be underway. We will have an opening date set. In case you don’t get the message: We’re coming and you can’t stop us.

We’ll add jobs to the neighborhood. Never mind that by helping make JP more unaffordable, even people who have jobs won’t be able to live or shop here. Never mind that another business could thrive in Jamaica Plain and add jobs to the neighborhood as well.

PRODUCT OFFERINGS: If people decide not to come to our generally expensive store for the various Latino products we offer, it’s not our fault when we discontinue them after a short period of keeping them stocked for PR purposes. In the mean time, the overall higher price point of our overall product offerings will accelerate the increases in food and home prices in JP.

YOUR COMMUNITY MARKET: We’ll give back to organized groups in order to hide the larger damage we do to the community, and buy groups’ silence. Never mind that 5% is little compared to the greater threat of gentrification and rising unaffordability in the neighborhood.

We understand that we will only be able to prove our commitment to you with our actions. So far, our actions demonstrate our true intentions: we signed a lease without community input in order to make it seem we're unstoppable (which we're not), and we completely ignore the issue of gentrification at the heart of why we would be bad for JP.

Sincerely,

Whole Foods

Man, I am feeling pretty out of the loop here. I missed the community meetings where JP Comics and Games, Ula Cafe, Polka Dog, JP Art Market, Goodwill, City Feed, Kitchenwitch, and all the other businesses that have opened or changed locations in the last several years prostrated themselves before the community and begged to be allowed to do business! Can somebody send me a link to these meetings? Because I want to be one of the Guardians of the Neighborhood! It seems like a great way to work up a good righteous indignation buzz, and God knows I'll take whatever kind of cheap buzz I can get.

When's the meeting about what we're going to allow to replace Great Wall? If it's not cheap but also locally and fairly sourced and offering a variety of cuisines that represents the diversity of Jamaica Plain as well as owned and operated by a disabled lesbian of color, you'll see me on the picket lines!

I think we should create a committee to safeguard our Centre Street from unwanted corporate intruders. It can be run by a board of directors selected from local businesses on the thoroughfare. I nominate CVS, Dunkin Donuts, Bank of America, Citizens Bank, Verizon Wireless, Ace Hardware, and Tedeschi.

It's hard not to fall over laughing at the absurdity of this anti-Whole Foods crowd. This isn't about a grocery store and we all know it. This is about the last desperate gasps of a bunch of far-left activists who see the end of their era and are hysterical. Whole Foods is more than a canary in the coal mine - it is the nail in the coffin for the fringe in JP who refuse to embrace change and want only to stay the course on decades of failed social experiments that taxpayers have been paying for. They hate the fact that lots of us want WF because it is a symbol of capitalism. They are terrified that the majority of JP is rejecting their anti-corporate rhetoric that is based on nothing but tired slogans from the 1960's. They are desperate to portray themselves as the conscience of a community for which they can no longer speak because they are the extremist fringe. Newcomers and people who support gentrification and improved property values are now the not-so-silent majority -- and JPNDC / Vida Urbana and the rest are furious because they no longer control the discussion. That's what this is about.

peace, love, justice, equality, ecology.......guilty as charged. what slogans do you live by?

The not-so-silent majority in Jamaica Plain make less than $70,000 household income, while a household would need to make about $95,000 to purchase a condominium in JP or $155,000 to purchase a single-family home. The not-so-silent majority saw income rise slightly over the past decade while rents nearly doubled and home/condominium prices more than doubled.

The not-so-silent majority is getting priced out of Jamaica Plain. As a previous post says, Whole Foods coming in is more than just about a store. It's about putting the brakes on out-of-control gentrification, because Whole Foods will accelerate it. People of all races, poor and middle-class, see how gentrification is hurting the fabric of the neighborhood and people's ability to live here -- and that's why we're speaking up.

Whole Foods can thrive in other neighborhoods, but we don't need Whole Foods and out-of-control gentrification in Jamaica Plain.

(Sources: American Community Survey 2005-2009; US Census 2000; The Warren Group; National Housing Conference and Center for Housing Policy)

I hope everyone reading here knows that "jpinvestor" does not speak for everyone who supports WF coming to JP. I could not disagree with him more, having lived in this community for over 20 years and met many of the good people who helped make it the community it is. Many of us reject the idea that life is a zero-sum gain and that some people can only have enough if others have too little.

I agree with Gretchen. JP's activist tradition is the reason we have the Orange Line and Southwest Corridor Park rather than I-93 in that spot. In short, it's the reason JP exists as a neighborhood at all. I value the diversity, the progressive atmosphere, and the artistic presence in JP.

jpinvestor is just as guilty of making Whole Foods into a symbol of something it's not as the opponents are.

Whole Foods is not the death of Jamaica Plain. Nor is it the death of progressivism. It's a freaking grocery store, people. Everybody needs to get a grip.

Speaking as a Whole Foods-coming-to-JP supporter, I don't think jpinvestor's left vs. right, capitalist vs. communist theory is even close to accurate. The fact is, Whole Foods is seeing support because it will address a real need in the neighborhood in ways that Knapp Foods never did -- otherwise, Knapp would've been profitable and would've stayed. Whole Foods in many ways represents the mainstreaming and the triumph of 60s values and pressure on "the man". The company offers terrific benefits, sells socially and environmentally responsible foods and products, and yet still thrives as a for-profit chain. Talk about the best of both worlds. And again, it seems to me that Whole Foods is coming because JP has been gentrified, not as a catalyst to gentrification. They don't locate stores hoping a neighborhood will be attractive to their bottom line 5 years from now. They want immediate profitability. Lastly, let me just say that for all those folks who (bravely?) invested in homes in JP 20-30-40 years ago, aren't they entitled to a nice payoff in the form of higher property values now that they've made a beautiful neighborhood all the nicer and more desirable? Artificially tamping down property values by closing the door on Whole Foods ignores the substantial mega-corporate presence already on Centre Street and offends the legacy of everyone who worked hard to make the neighborhood great -- yes, with 60s-era values.

JPNC will be having another Whole Foods community meeting at the Kennedy School, 7 Bolster Street, February 28th at 7pm. I was out of town for the last meeting, but I'll be there to discuss how I support effectively ensuring affordable housing and economic and social diversity in JP and how I also shop at Whole Foods.

I hope Felix Arroyo is there again. As opposed to Matt O'Malley or Jeffrey Sanchez, he doesn't seem to want to take the time to respond to my emails. Perhaps he's confused about whether or not I am one of his constituents? I know he's busy, so I somewhat get it. It's kind of hard to be both a city councilor and a real estate agent for America's Food Basket and Brothers Supermarket.

Beneath all of the emotions it seems like everyone really wants the same thing: a grocery store that provides healthy and affordable food that all JP cultures feel comfortable shopping at. Can we move on from the us vs them and come together to figure out a solution that works for everyone (it is clear that not everyone is in agreement about WF)? I'm sure there are local/regional grocery stores out there who would jump at the opportunity to move into the Hi-Lo space (the store was not publicly for sale) that would provide organic and healthy products as well as similar products that Hi-Lo carried.