Destiny's Darlin'

So, there’s been a huge discussion going on online about the Hi Lo, a latin american-focused grocery store in Jamaica Plain, MA, closing and being replaced by a Whole Foods. Hi Lo has been in business for about 50 years and has decided to close. They’re not being forced out but are closing by choice. They’ve decided to lease their store to Whole Foods.

There are a number of other grocery options in JP, Stop and Shop, City Feed and Supply, and Harvest Coop, along with a number of smaller latin american bodegas. Stop and Shop does a decent job of offering a selection of latin american foods as well as some organic foods. City Feed is an upscale convenience store and Harvest is a small organic / naturals grocery store.  Each has their own problems.

There is a lot of discussion about how this event is a further sign of the increasing gentrification of JP. That may be true, but is it bad? Hi Lo is a dirty place where the quality of produce is suspect. Neither Stop & Shop or Hi Lo were ever engaged with the neighborhood at all, beyond selling food. There are many people saying that Whole Foods needs to go above and beyond what is expected of these other businesses. I wonder at the hypocricy. There are a lot of empty storefronts in Hyde Sq and a Whole Foods is a much better alternative than having such a large store remaining empty.

There are complaints that Whole Foods is super expensive and that latinos won’t be able to shop there. (Presumably because they’re all poor? I’m unclear on that logic) When shopping for the same / similar items, Whole Foods’ prices are quite competitive with other grocery stores. If you don’t have the time to do such a comparison yourself, you can do a google search to find ones that other people have done.

JP deserves high quality organic food too. If you’d like to do some reading and perhaps commenting, see the following: