Robin Garr's LOUISVILLE Restaurant Reviews

(This is one in an occasional series of reviews of food-related consumer businesses other than restaurants on LouisvilleHotBytes.com. In contrast with our restaurant reports, these reviews are intended for information, but are not given a star or point rating.)

Wild Oats Natural Marketplace
4600 Shelbyville Road
(502) 721-7373
In spite of my instinctive predisposition to dislike national corporate chains that move into suburbia bearing the economic clout to make life tough for independent local businesses, I have to admit that after a browsing visit I'm impressed with the new Wild Oats Natural Marketplace that opened recently in the renovated Shelbyville Road Plaza (behind Hawley-Cooke).

The chain, with its national Website at http://www.wildoats.com/, superficially resembles certain aspects of Rainbow Blossom and some of Fresh Market, but on a much larger scale than either. It's essentially an upscale natural-foods market with a broad selection of mostly organic and "natural" produce, meats, fish, cheeses and specialty food items, with an inventory to match all but the largest general-purpose supermarkets, and a glitzy modern style. There's also a small cafe featuring desserts, pastries, a salad bar and coffee drinks.

It should be noted that the foods are not all strictly organic. The produce department, for instance, bears separate signs denoting "O" Organic and "C" Conventional food, the latter being available, to paraphrase the notices, to ensure the availability of quality produce year-round.

In its size and scope, Wild Oats fills a niche that hasn't been entirely met in Louisville, and I fear it poses a serious competitive threat to Rainbow Blossom, Fresh Market and perhaps even Kroger's (which, I can't help but notice, has dramatically increased the availability of natural and organic produce at its East End stores in recent months).

I'll probably shop there, particularly for the quality "natural" meat and poultry (including pork products that have not been injected with that nasty Moist'n'Tender slime). But chances are that since I have to pass Rainbow Blossom, Lotsa Pasta and St. Matthews Seafood to there, I won't too often have occasion to drive past the Lexington Road "foodie ghetto" to get out to Shelbyville Road Plaza.

As a corporate "social marketing" commitment, by the way, Wild Oats has several programs aimed at supporting local non-profit organizations through donations to local and global non-profit organizations. On the more shadowy side, I can't help but notice stern notices on the doors warning against solicitation and distributing literature ... often a signal of authoritarian management or an aggressive anti-union policy.

(February 2003)