Salon: Whole Foods Makes the Business Day Longer When It Enters Neighborhoods

Here in Jamaica Plain, it seems like we've examined the Whole Foods controversy from every angle. Twice.

But I ran across this article in Salon over the weekend that manages to make a point I hadn't yet heard: That Whole Foods stores, when they come into changing neighborhoods like ours, have the effect of "extending the business day."

“What something like a movie theater or a Whole Foods does is it creates an extended-hours district,” says Johnson Reid, the author of a study. “Lots of downtowns close up shop at 6, but there are certain amenities that can make a downtown go from being a 10-hour thing to a 16-hour thing.”

It's part of the Salon article's discussion of the "," which has been much debated here in JP.

Hyde Square's newest business, Caffe Aromi, is open 6 a.m.-6 p.m. for its initial phase, but hopes to expand its hours to 11 p.m.

And the itself has floated a plan to add seating for customers to eat prepared foods on site. The JP Neighborhood Council , but Whole Foods could go directly to the city's Inspectional Services Department, which is not bound by Neighborhood Council recommendations.

Here's a link to the full Salon story, "Whole Foods is Coming? Time to Buy."