Well, I had hoped the shopping experience here would improve, but apparently they are determined to…read morebe the worst Whole Foods in the area. They decided to remove all the bulk food. You know, nuts, dried beans, dried lentils, and a couple dozen other items that were available by the pound, as they are in every other Whole Foods, including Ashburn. So I just did something I never do, and walked out, leaving my cart behind, on my way to go to Sprouts, which is next to Mom's - two actual health food stores, both of which sell bulk dried foods.
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Prior review
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We waited a year for this? Seriously?
What a **HUGE** disappointment.
Start with the cafe.
Hoping for something as inviting as Fair Lakes, with beer on tap and indoor and outdoor dining? Or perhaps Ashburn's second floor with a two-level outdoor deck? Forget it. The indoor cafe area is about as inviting as a prison cafeteria. They had a year to build, a very large space, and a side parking lot that was always empty when this building was a Best Buy. Given they gutted the building, they could have cut openings in that wall and created an indoor / outdoor space. Nope. Let's just throw some tables against the front wall. The harsh lighting and being on display will ensure quick turnover.
I've held team meetings at Fair Lakes, so we could talk over beer and burgers. Zero chance of me ever doing that here.
Salad bar?
I had hoped for a four-station setup like Ashburn, instead of the three-station setup they had at the prior Reston location. Nope. Just three, with one dedicated to soup, which means all hot food, prepared food, and salad offerings are spread across just two stations. Thus, the station for salad has half the vegetable and protein options Ashburn offers. Instead of five types of greens, it had two, plus browning iceberg, and significantly fewer vegetable options. No cauliflower, green beans, radishes, edamame, green peppers, etc. Protein? Instead of three types of lean poultry, it had one - rubbery chicken. And for non-meat-based protein, instead of tofu and 4 types of beans, it had black and garbanzo beans.
Can you get a salad here? Yes. Will I? Given the selection, why bother?
And beer?
Well, the website claims a "world class selection," but the nearby Giant and Harris Teeter stores both seem to have a much larger selection, including local craft options. And while I was disappointed when I saw the beer options were largely limited to what was in a cooler, I was even more disappointed when I saw how much of that cooler was dedicated to seltzers and non-alcoholic content. Hey, those are great options, but how about a beer selection that motivates craft beer fans to come to the store?
If I'm in the store and need beer, I'll grab something, but I'm not passing by Harris Teeter to come here for beer... and that means I'll likely pickup other things there as well.
But hey, I did grab some Yogi tea while I was here, since I ran out last night. For $1 more a box than TJ's two blocks away.
And while the place is clean, as you would expect at this stage, it has the ambiance of a fluorescent-lit big box discount store.
Given the size of the space and the time they spent on the build out, this location could have been their flagship location in Nova. Instead, it's just another grocery store, in an area that does not lack for options, including a Wegman's, right down the road.
