Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage is the latest "natural" grocery store here in Lawrence. It's not a corner of a supermarket, but an entire store devoted primarily to organic foods and supplements. Wait, don't we have that already with the Community Merc and doesn't JoCo already have TWO Whole Foods? What's the deal? Didn't Wild Oats fold in Lawrence a few years ago?
Located on the land once housed by a Burger King (yes, the irony is delicious), this store has a much smaller footprint that any of those stores. The size is more like a Trader Joe's or Aldis. Likewise, Natural Grocers does not have a deli, bakery or any type of food prepared on site (though they sell these items prepackaged). Since this store is "by Vitamin Cottage," approximately 30-40% of the store is devoted to natural supplements & beauty accessories. If someone thinks it can improve your health and it comes in a bottle of some form, they are likely to carry it.
Example: comparing organic and vegan protein supplements I found a much greater variety here than at Whole Foods and The Merc combined. They have house brands of many items and carry entire product lines of such suppliers as NOW and Source of Life. Pricing was right in line with other stores where I've seen these products.
The produce section is all organic. No conventionals. They claim this prevents cross contamination and I agree. I've witnessed people accidentally mix and match conventional and organic produce items in stores all the time. It's hard not to. You ask your spouse to put something back on the shelf and they aren't paying attention and then five minutes later someone else picks it up. Pricing and variety is competitive. Obviously during a grand opening, everything was well stocked. I hope that trend continues as I've found most stores tend to run out of the organic items. With this being the sole focus, I'm hoping that I'll always be able to find what I need there for a recipe.
General grocery items were on average 10% less than the Merc, though some items were about 10% higher which is consistent with Whole Foods. I did direct price checking on items I buy and only one item was more. Selection is more limited at Natural Grocers. They only carry a few product lines but carry deep variety within the lines. Take for example Imagine Soups. They had every soup I've ever seen there and more varieties than any Lawrence store. Sale prices were fabulous!. Combine that with some coupons and you'll be styling. Lots of national brands means easy to access coupons.
What's missing here is many local affinity brands, though they did a great job of representing there. One day I went they were doing samples of Beeler's regional meats and another day it was Soy-Zen-Zay from Shawnee Kansas. Not nearly as much local variety as the Merc or Whole Foods, but that's fine--that's what they are there for. No Localbucha here (wah!) but about 10 other national varieties of Kombachu--in fact an entire shelf of it! And lots of hummus choices.
Everyone working was extremely nice and went out of their way to assist. No smugness or attitude, these people were generally helpful. Again, this is opening week, I'd expect nothing less. However national chains have standards of service and have to work to earn business rather than expect it from "locals." Local is sometimes used as an excuse for lower quality or higher price. Here they have to earn business in Lawrence. They have a community room in the back that groups can reserve for free and they have a "SCRIPS" fundraising program that allows non-profits to resell gift cards.
A few negatives. First parking is kind of a pain and both the entrance and exit onto 23rd Street is rough. Better to take Oushdahl and use the entrance behind the store. There is no question of paper or plastic here, they'll provide you a box if you need otherwise you need to bring your own bag. I like that, but it can be a drag if you have a big shopping trip.
Overall this national brand is a welcome addition to the Lawrence grocery scene. This isn't a decade ago when Wild Oats came in to compete with the only other source of natural groceries. In 2011, natural foods is no longer a niche but an expected choice and simply offering it isn't enough. Stores need to compete on quality, price, selection and customer service.
Natural Grocer's 's focus on organic produce and deep selection of natural brands at excellent pricing will help bring more people into healthy and mindful eating and might give the local and national supermarkets in town a bit more healthy competition that will improve the quality of service for all of us. A bonus: being right next to Dillons allows for easier one stop shopping when I need conventional products. Rest of the stores in town--up your game if you want to keep my grocery shopping $$ because you've really got some quality competition here. read more