Community Market's Prepared Food Bar Now Surpasses Whole Foods in Quality! Check It Out

Like many in our community, I want to support the local non-profit Community Market that opened in the Barlow, for many reasons. Local ownership, local produce, ALL organic, friendly service, etc.

So when their hot food bar opened at the Barlow opening a while back, I was disappointed that their hot food bar was so meager and tired. Also, that their prices on things like bread and oils and ice cream were significantly higher than Whole Foods.

I spoke to their manager, who was an excellent listener, and encouraged all of us to provide feedback here at Wacco. I suggested that their hot food bar needed to be at least as good as Whole Foods', and that their prices could not be significantly higher, or many of us would bite our lip and continue to shop at Whole Food, despite our desire to Go Local with Community Market. Also, that Whole Foods did an excellent job with their prepared foods, and that this would be a challenging bar to meet.

At the time, their manager said that they were hiring a new cook for deli and hot food bar, and that they had identified this as an important step in their local growth. She was undefensive, and appreciative of the feedback.

Well, I am pleased to report that the results are in. and they are impressive! :thumbsup:

For the past few weeks I have noticed a continual improvement in their offerings. Yesterday I did a major shop there and came away a very satisfied customer. The packaged food (Coconut Bliss-yum) was on sale for a few bucks less than Whole Foods. Produce was ALL organic and lower price, more local, and fresher than Whole Foods. And, best of all, their prepared food table was delicious.

I was going to grab lunch and cook dinner; I ended up tasting, then taking, their polenta and a fancy organic chicken in wine sauce with mushroom dish home, and adding it to some other food for dinner. I'm not a bad cook, but this was better than what I had in mind.

One of the dirty little secrets about Whole Foods that Iearrned many years back is that customers assume their salad bars (which are HUGE in New York) are organic. But in fact they are mostly non-organic. Ditto for their prepared foods.

So Community Market has the quality, the flavor--and they are organic. At the same or lower price. And oh, so Local!

If you tried Community Market once, when they opened, and were dissatisfied, I urge you to give them a second chance. You won't be sorry :heart:

Bravo, Community Market. Welcome to Sebastopol. May you thrive here for many years!

We are indeed fortunate to have a worker owned alternative to Whole Foods. Though I have frequented their hot food bar since it began, they only change their menu about once or twice a week. Community Market changes theirs once or twice everyday, made in small batches, trying lots of new recipes, and I feel better patronizing them knowing it's organic (Try their lentil stuffed cabbage). They also have 5% off everything on Saturday, which adds up. Dealing with WF's parking lot is like taking your life into your own hands, so I appreciate the no hassle parking at Comm Mkt (even though I hope their business builds and becomes successful). I now visit them daily.

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Posted in reply to the post by Peacetown Jonathan:

...So Community Market has the quality, the flavor--and they are organic. At the same or lower price. And oh, so Local! ...

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I would like to add that the meat counter at Community Market, by Victorian Farmstead is outstanding. All of their products come from sustainable ranches in Sonoma and Marin counties.

I am looking forward to trying the new and improved prepared food bar. Did you know that Warped Brewing Company (next to Taylor Maid) does not serve food, but customers are welcome to bring their own take-out?

[QUOTE=Peacetown Jonathan;176354...
For the past few weeks I have noticed a continual improvement in their offerings. Yesterday I did a major shop there and came away a very satisfied customer. The packaged food (Coconut Bliss-yum) was on sale for a few bucks less than Whole Foods. Produce was ALL organic and lower price, more local, and fresher than Whole Foods. And, best of all, their prepared food table was delicious.
...
So Community Market has the quality, the flavor--and they are organic. At the same or lower price. And oh, so Local!

If you tried Community Market once, when they opened, and were dissatisfied, I urge you to give them a second chance. You won't be sorry :heart:

Bravo, Community Market. Welcome to Sebastopol. May you thrive here for many years![/QUOTE]

I'm confused about Community Market being "worker owned". I looked it up a few weeks ago, and according to what I read, it's not actually "worker owned". Maybe someone from Community Market can clarify what is assumed by many people, including myself, until I did some research. I'm pretty sure it was on the Community Market site where it describes them. Anyone?

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Posted in reply to the post by lili22:

We are indeed fortunate to have a worker owned alternative to Whole Foods. Though I have frequented their hot food bar since it began, they only change their menu about once or twice a week. Community Market changes theirs once or twice everyday, made in small batches, trying lots of new recipes, and I feel better patronizing them knowing it's organic (Try their lentil stuffed cabbage). They also have 5% off everything on Saturday, which adds up. Dealing with WF's parking lot is like taking your life into your own hands, so I appreciate the no hassle parking at Comm Mkt (even though I hope their business builds and becomes successful). I now visit them daily.

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thank you all for the kindness and support!

its "worker RUN"....the board is investigating the "worker owned" models--ala alvarado street breads and many northwest natural foods folk--but for now, we are just worker run, "food for people, not for profit"! :): also, just to clarify: 5% saturday is the FIRST SATURDAY of the month only. thanks again for the love!

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Posted in reply to the post by Shandi:

I'm confused about Community Market being "worker owned". I looked it up a few weeks ago, and according to what I read, it's not actually "worker owned". Maybe someone from Community Market can clarify what is assumed by many people, including myself, until I did some research. I'm pretty sure it was on the Community Market site where it describes them. Anyone?

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I recently moved from Denver, where they have a great market called Vitamin Cottage/Natural Grocers, and I loved that they had only organic produce and better prices the WFM. Natural Grocers is a growing, family-owned company that I understand is coming to California, and I definitely support that!

I'm glad to hear that Community Market is another alternative to WFM with organic-only produce, plus is run by employees. I'll have to check it out next time I need produce!

My experience with Community Market's new shop in The Barlow has been very positive. While I've liked their Santa Rosa store for the most part (it reminded me of the co-op stores I'd been a member of back east), I'd always found their prices to be too high (especially in bulk items) to be a regular shopper. As incomes continue to shrink for many of us not in the wine business, it is nice to find that the selection and quality of the products at Community rival or surpass those at the Food Hole. And in some cases the prices are better. You just have to shop and compare and you can find great bargains. It is absolutely crazy the Whole Foods is often the cheapest grocery store in town on many things you can find at the non-groovy chains like Safeway and Lucky.

And I LOVE the hot food bar and the deli at Community. Great gluten-free pizzas, a nice selection of entrees and sides and a great salad bar, too. Glad to find out the salad stuff is all organic, as I had made the assumption that W.F was, too.

Anyway, while I'm not a fan of the Barlow, I'm digging Community and I look forward to its progress in the months and years to come.

:banana::CarveTurkey::gravapple::dcngbrocli::letseat:

I appreciate your report on Community Market hot food bar/deli. Since I live in Rohnert Park, I don't shop in Sebastopol. But at some point I want to check out Community Mkt for something different.

I did go to Spouts in Petaluma when they opened, and had a $5 coupon on a $30 purchase. I even went after the coupon was expired, and the checker gave me $5 off, without me mentioning a word, except that it was my first visit.

They have an amazing variety of foods there, including items for vegans, and a large supplement section.
They sell a dozen delicious cookies for $3! I almost didn't buy them, because I assumed they couldn't be any good at that price. A dozen cookies usually sells for twice that or more. The kinds I got were choc. chip and cranberry, oatmeal, nut. They tasted homemade, and were soft, not rock hard. Their bakery has all kinds of unique breads, including gluten free. There's a huge variety of coffees, with samples to try. I got a huge tuna wrap in a spinach tortilla, like the ones at TJs, for $3! (with lettuce, tomato, red onion) delicious! They have chicken wraps too. A nice fish and meat dept, in addition to a great selection of organic produce. During Valentine's week, I bought a tulip plant for $4. They could have easily charged twice that, as many stores do during this holiday.

It's a small store, but it has an open design, so it's hard to lose the person you come in with. I told the checker that this was the first time I've ever had fun grocery shopping! The combination of variety, quality, and price will keep me coming back, even though it's a little farther than I'm used to driving. It's right at Washington and the 101, in the new shopping center. I love TJs, but I can't always get everything I want there. At sprouts, I can.

I'm very interested in your comment about Whole Foods often being the cheapest store in town, on many things you can find at Safeway and Luckys. I'd love to know what some of these things are. The only time I go to Whole Foods is when something I use is on sale. I'd really appreciate it if you could be more specific about these regular lower prices at Whole Foods. Please share the wealth, I'm sure others would appreciate it! If anyone else knows what these items are, please speak up, Whole Foods needs our support,
now more than ever!

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Posted in reply to the post by Ted Pole:

My experience with Community Market's new shop in The Barlow has been very positive. ...

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Whole Foods needs our support, now more than ever!

really?

wow! i am very interested in shandi's last line in her post that states the about re: WF needing our support now more than ever...i am unsure of how a NASDAQ company, who annually grosses upwards of eight---yes EIGHT--billion---yes BILLION--- needs "our support" now more than ever---especially here in sebastopol! did you mean because of the opening of sprouts in petaluma? i am confused....

of course, i am biased...but, if i had to choose, i might say that the not for profit, community market at the barlow "needs our support now more than ever"

forbes magazine wrote a lovely article on WF and their founder, including his catch phrase of "conscious capitalism" that i found extremely fascinating! please shandi, am most curious to hear what you meant ....
respectfully....L

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Posted in reply to the post by Shandi:

...I'm very interested in your comment about Whole Foods often being the cheapest store in town, on many things you can find at Safeway and Luckys. I'd love to know what some of these things are. The only time I go to Whole Foods is when something I use is on sale. I'd really appreciate it if you could be more specific about these regular lower prices at Whole Foods. Please share the wealth, I'm sure others would appreciate it! If anyone else knows what these items are, please speak up, Whole Foods needs our support,now more than ever!

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Shandi, first, thanks for the heads up about Sprouts. I'd forgotten that it had opened up because I haven't been by that area of Petaluma in months. I'll definitely check it out. :thumbsup:

As for Whole Foods prices on particular items in Sebastopol, I've found it is cheaper on most organic produce, condiments like salad dressing, ketchup, and jams, Udi's gluten-free breads, bulk nuts and rolled oats, dairy products and most Amy's products.

Lucky is cheaper on things like their more limited selection of organic produce (when it is on sale), particularly berries, ice cream, and the gluten-free frozen cod and haddock filets we like.

Fircrest is cheapest on deli items, fresh ground peanut butter, dishwashing liquid, laundry detergent and not much else, though I love the store anyway for many other reasons.

Andy's and Fiesta/Pacific are the most expensive stores in town, IMHO.

Of course, you have to do your own research and things change month to month and week to week. I actually made a chart of all the stuff we buy and put six columns next to them and would go to the stores and fill in the prices over a week or two and that was what I found.

And lindasw, I Wholely agree. The Food Whole doesn't need our help. It is already where I do most of my shopping, partly out of habit and reflex. I heard on the news this week that one of the reasons Safeway is looking for a buyer is that they can't compete with Whole Foods and Lucky.

Go organic! Eat it raw!

:tdaydinner:

Thanks so much for the details, I'll have to check it out when I'm in the area. My phrase that "Whole Foods needs our support" was actually tongue in cheek sarcasm.:wink2: (Shame on me!)

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Posted in reply to the post by Ted Pole:

Shandi, first, thanks for the heads up about Sprouts....

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Sorry, that was a sarcastic remark, not sincere at all, and very unlike me! But I'm glad to see people speaking up about WF, even though they still shop there. Habits are are to break,................. unless you're broke, already!

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Posted in reply to the post by lindasw:

Whole Foods needs our support, now more than ever!

really?...

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Another awesome thing at the new community Market in Sebastopol is the addition of a wine section. This is a new feature with the Sebastopol store, and the Santa Rosa store where I mostly shop (since I live there) does not feature wine. As a representative of several small production hand crafted sustainable wineries in California, I was really excited to get some wine in to the new store.

For people in the area who are truly interested in unique very hand crafted wines that one cannot get anywhere else, some surprises can be found there. For example, they feature the entry level red from the esteemed Santa Cruz Mountains winery, "Bob Cat Red" (yum! I forget the retail price, but I think it's less than $15 btl), which cannot be found anywhere else in the county right now.

Other wines not found in these parts, (not even at Bottlebarn) include Downhill, or River Run from Central Coast regions, or Philo Ridge a completely wind and solar run winery from Mendocino County, and many others. One wine I brought into the store that is a local producer who only makes 3 or 4 barrels each per lot (fyi there are only 25 cases of wine per barrel, 12 bottles to a case), is the Reinking Zinfandel, by Scott Reinking; fabulous hand crafted beauties.

I really appreciate the focus on sustainable wines that are also lovingly handcrafted. By the way....I heard they will be featuring some wine and beer sampling for customers coming up in about April or so.....

Ever since the owner of Whole Foods said he was against ObamaCare and that Americans wouldn't need health insurance if they shopped at his store, I have boycotted Whole Foods. He's a Texas libertarian. Barrie

I love food! And I love choice! However, I don't like shopping. For anything. I like to just get in and get out, and have a good experience, of course. I watch my food budget, but I do splurge. It always cracks me up when, to this day, there are still people who complain about "organic" being so expensive. "Cheaper than chemo" I always say, but to each his own!

Having said that, I'm a big Andy's fan. Nowadays, I have a CSA box of fresh, local, organic veggies delivered every week from Singing Frogs Farm (every other week in winter) for $24! No gas, no wasting my time driving, parking, shopping. I love it!

However for everything else, I still shop at Andy's. I live out near Occidental, so end up driving whenever I need to go "make the long trek" into Sebastopol. I can understand how Andy's may not be convenient for a lot of Sebastopolitans who live in town and go everywhere on foot or bike.

I still have not been into Community Market, but will check it out soon. I can't comment on Food Bars. I think of them more as an occasional convenience, but they are much more expensive then making food at home, so I've never fully explored them. Now for my question - why is it so much better to patronize a non-profit (?) community owned market than, say, a family owned market?

For me I don't think it's better to patronize a community owned non profit store than a small family owned store; I think both of those options are FAR better than supporting a Greedy Corporate owned store.

Many people who "complain" about organic food being expensive may be on an extremely low food budget. For many elders on social security of $800-$1000, this amount has to include rent, non-foods items like toilet paper and soap, gas, car insurance, phone, TV, and more than likely, pet food. You can only spend what you have, although we know that credit cards help us spend more than we have.,,,,,for awhle.

The same goes for low income families. Choosing organic foods may mean going without a meal or more. And if they get a serious illness, especially if it's the one who has a job, this family spirals down into homelessness. Forget about organics, they're digging food from the dumpsters, and getting packaged food from food banks. I've been there. For those who have no experience with this, it's easy to make judgements. We all tend to do this, unless we've walked in someone else's shoes.

There was a time when I was unable to stand to cook, although I'd always loved cooking healthy meals, and very rarely ate fast foods. I had to resort to frozen dinners from the cheapest store....Grocery Outlet, and forcing myself to get produce that had been thrown out, from dumpsters behind grocery stores. My painful physical condition required pain meds, which led to fuzzy thinking, which led to depression, which led to the doctor prescribing anti-depressants, which led to suicidal feelings, and my hair falling out in clumps. I couldn't work, and it took awhile to get disability. During this time, I was dependent on a friend letting me live rent free. He was also a low income person, who was falling more and more behind in his mortgage payments, until he lost his home.

Because of these experiences, with loss of health and loss of choice, I have empathy in a way I never would have, or even could have, without them.

Although I don't watch much TV, I've recently seen ads for "Food Deserts", and how attention is being brought to neighborhoods with an abundance of convenience stores and fast foods places, where many low income families get some of their food. Many don't have cars, so they walk to do grocery shopping, packing stuff into a stroller next to a baby or toddler. This ad promotes a way for them to get double the amount of organic produce from nearby farmer's markets, with their food stamp cards. I wonder if people might judge this as an "unfair" advantage. I see it as a step in the right direction. And a great way to donate to a cause that means more people will be able to eat organic foods.

When we're tempted to "splurge", we might also donate a few dollars to those who don't have that choice. I think it's a great idea that many grocery stores have easy ways to donate food or money (right at the checkstand) to our neighbors who may be forced to eat foods we'd never choose.....unless fate has something else in mind for us. We never really know, but we tend to think we do.

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Posted in reply to the post by Shandi:

Many people who "complain" about organic food being expensive may be on an extremely low food budget....

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Thank you for your thoughtful reply Shandi. I apologize if my post made you feel obliged to defend a personal situation. In keeping with the theme of the thread, I admit that I took a rather circuitous route to my question regarding community markets vs family owned. It boggles the mind that something as basic and necessary as clean, wholesome food is truly a luxury for some. We may live in abundance here in Sonoma County, but that doesn't mean that it is accessible to all...

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Posted in reply to the post by Sabrina:

For me I don't think it's better to patronize a community owned non profit store than a small family owned store; I think both of those options are FAR better than supporting a Greedy Corporate owned store.

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So for all of us on this board who live/shop in Sebastopol who care about where our grocery dollars go, it looks like we have options in "The Golden Triangle" - family-owned Andy's to the north, Fircrest to the south, and Community Market in the middle! (Well, kind of a triangle - humor me here : )

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Posted in reply to the post by Sabrina:

For me I don't think it's better to patronize a community owned non profit store than a small family owned store; I think both of those options are FAR better than supporting a Greedy Corporate owned store.

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So for all of us on this board who live/shop in Sebastopol who care about where our grocery dollars go, it looks like we have options in "The Golden Triangle" - family-owned Andy's to the north, Fircrest to the south, and Community Market in the middle! (Well, kind of a triangle - humor me here : )

Can I stretch the geography a little and include the sweet and enduring Speer's Market, (in Forestville on Mirabel at River) which is where I go when I don't want to venture into the "busy town" (gawd I'm spoiled) and have found fairly decent prices, some bargains, good selections for a small market, great deli department, a vastly improved produce department, with organics, and fresh local grown, nice wine selection, and wonderful friendly people. I support it so it stays here.

... and Speer's has THE BEST prices, consistently, on Clover Half 'n' Half (again, I am spoiled) and speaking of... Clov...er is a fabulous local company which has been around forever and supplies quality products without additives, and offers an organic version of their dairy products.

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Posted in reply to the post by Victoria Street:

So for all of us on this board who live/shop in Sebastopol who care about where our grocery dollars go, it looks like we have options in "The Golden Triangle" - family-owned Andy's to the north, Fircrest to the south, and Community Market in the middle! (Well, kind of a triangle - humor me here : )

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Victoria,
Thanks for your thoughtful response. I wasn't only defending a personal situation, but speaking for those homeless people I've met, and helped, last year. Although I'm much better now than I described, I'm still living frugally on social security. But, somehow I was able to share a little bit with these people who had even less with no shelter or much food. My car became a mobile food bank for one family with children. I shared what I got from the food bank with them.

As for your question about community markets vs family owned, it seemed that the statement indicated that both of these were preferred to the bigger chains, but that may have just been my interpretation.

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Posted in reply to the post by Victoria Street:

Thank you for your thoughtful reply Shandi. I apologize if my post made you feel obliged to defend a personal situation.

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"Now for my question - why is it so much better to patronize a non-profit (?) community owned market than, say, a family owned market?"

This is not an either/or question. When I lived in San Francisco, I regularly shopped at a well-known community-owned grocery store, which I later found out was rife with corruption, employee abuse and often an extremely condescending attitude towards its customers. I would sooner shop at Halliburton's Supermarket than that place now.

So, it depends on the community market and it depends on the family. If they're assholes, I won't shop there. Fortunately, that situation isn't an issue here in S'pol. Our criteria is merely selection and price. If you can afford to shop at stores where the prices are significantly higher as a way to support your beliefs, more power to you.

I know that as I head towards the light, my income-generating capacity has diminished, and where I used to be able to shop at Andy's or Community or Fiesta with impunity, I now shop for the lowest prices. That sometimes means corporate-owned stores.:sorry: Like Shandi, I have found that our abilities to live the way we'd prefer are impacted by our incomes. And I think that is the future that many of us will be living in.

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Posted in reply to the post by Ted Pole:

"So for all of us on this board who live/shop in Sebastopol who care about where our grocery dollars go, it looks like we have options in "The Golden Triangle" - family-owned Andy's to the north, Fircrest to the south, and Community Market in the middle!"

I know you didn't mean to come off sounding smug, but that's the way it reads to me.

:Yinyangv::butterfly

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Thanks Ted - No I didn't mean to come off as smug, but hey! If it reads like that, then I take responsibility! I was chuckling to myself, actually, when I wrote "The Golden Triangle", as I thought it absurd. I guess my lame attempt at humor took a nosedive. I didn't mean to get into the politics and personal histories of individual situations. I'm am not preaching on how to live or where to shop.

I just felt a need to pipe up in response to those who complain about Whole Foods, but yet still shop there. If you shop there because you like it, no problem! But since the topics of "organic", "shopping locally", corporate vs. community vs. family owned, etc were being discussed, I simply don't understand what the problem is - you have choices people! Three local grocers that I named right here in Sebastopol who fit that bill, located at the north, south, and in the center of town, not to mention farmer's markets and CSA's.

Perhaps my perception of some posts as being "whiney" is just as off base as my post(s) as being smug. I see nothing smug about putting my money where my mouth is. I would venture to bet that a vast majority of us here on wacco have finite resources. I'm not into the why's - does it matter? Is it a contest? I probably wouldn't win, but I might surprise some of you by giving you a run for your money (pardon the pun...). Oh yeah - this post is about food bars, I almost forgot....

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Posted in reply to the post by Ted Pole:

"So for all of us on this board who live/shop in Sebastopol who care about where our grocery dollars go, it looks like we have options in "The Golden Triangle" - family-owned Andy's to the north, Fircrest to the south, and Community Market in the middle!"

I know you didn't mean to come off sounding smug, but that's the way it reads.

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a little bit of 'food for thought' re: investment funds and Whole Foods:

https://jonrappoport.wordpress.com/2...nto-identical/

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Posted in reply to the post by Barrie:

Ever since the owner of Whole Foods said he was against ObamaCare and that Americans wouldn't need health insurance if they shopped at his store, I have boycotted Whole Foods. He's a Texas libertarian. Barrie

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Much appreciation for this interesting information, and the time you took to research.

I wonder if this will create any indigestion from Whole Foods supporters, since it may be a "difficult truth" to swallow. (no pun intended)

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Posted in reply to the post by kltkwmn~707:

a little bit of 'food for thought' re: investment funds and Whole Foods:

https://jonrappoport.wordpress.com/2...nto-identical/

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Posted in reply to the post by Barrie:

...the owner of Whole Foods said he was against ObamaCare and that Americans wouldn't need health insurance if they shopped at his store...

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He must not have health insurance then. He'd be a hypocrite if he did. (I'll bet he does--and is.)

...i agree with you and with victoria about the choices we have in how we eat and where we can shop in our town. because i live on the south end of town, i still manage to patronize the same stores i did before community market opened. i love and have had professional relationships with both andy's and fircrest markets; although, i am loyal to my new place of employment, my feeling is that there are plenty of local businesses that we all can choose from and support. i am grateful when people come in to cm and tell me how happy they are that we are here---but i never would be so goofy as to expect folks to shop with us exclusively....

...people living on fixed incomes, who rely on food banks and other means to eat and feed their families, treasure the opportunity to find healthy choices and options in with the standard kraft mac n cheese boxes they are mostly given ...food is food, and they should be grateful for ANYTHING, one would say...but, its often nice to send out a gentle reminder to help our less fortunate neighbors a little when we can.

just so you know, there is a donation bin for individuals and families living with HIV/AIDS that sits in community market by the front door. healthy food choices are imperative for people living with AIDS...so, please, when you come shopping, maybe you could pick up an additional little healthy item to toss into the bin to help someone less fortunate....
thanks and love,
lsw :nod:

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Posted in reply to the post by Shandi:

Many people who "complain" about organic food being expensive may be on an extremely low food budget. ...

I think it's a great idea that many grocery stores have easy ways to donate food or money (right at the checkstand) to our neighbors who may be forced to eat foods we'd never choose.....unless fate has something else in mind for us. We never really know, but we tend to think we do.

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