Wi-Fi Hotspot: Whole Foods Market

This week I explored , located at 3682 Bel Aire Plaza.

Whole Foods is, as you probably know, a healthy, organically-oriented, trendy grocery chain. It wasn’t the type of place I’d thought of as a meeting place to connect and do business, so when my friend Karen Calhoun suggested it, I didn’t know what to expect. We met promptly at 9 a.m. on Vet’s Day, and had no problem getting service from the Market’s espresso counter.

Service and Food

We were greeted quickly and efficiently and found it easy to order and get going. Food had some very interesting options, and the cost of breakfast could range from three bucks to any upper range. Its food selection was unmatched compared to anywhere reviewed so far, of course because the place is a market.

Karen settled on a low-cost and very healthy oatmeal with real maple syrup for flavor. I’d already eaten at that point, so had none myself.  The coffee was very affordable, and with a 16 ounce cup of quite decent Breakfast Blend for Karen and French Roast for me, we went looking for seating.

Seating and Environment

The seating is not in direct view of the espresso counter, and is in the front of the market. There was no problem finding a small table looking out through the water-based ad-painted glass into a wet Bel  Aire Plaza. There are a couple of large tables as well, and when we switched seating to one of them later on, I felt that it would no longer be rude to use my mouse. It’s a very good area for spreading out your papers and projects; within reason, of course.

The acoustics were such that conversation was easy, and were also easily lost in the reverberation of sound in the big building. There was a barely legible pop station playing in the background over the public address system, and it added to the general camouflage of noise. The noise level, though not overpowering was a busy level.

The location might be a good informal place to meet friends, but I wouldn’t choose it for an interview or to impress out-of-town clients. It seemed that the place should have had more sit-down patrons than it did, but that’s likely because, like me, many don’t think of it as a café, but as a grocery store. Perhaps due to this, people-watching was rather mundane. The most action in that arena was the regular shoppers that flowed through the checkouts, which were in sight of the tables, but far enough away not to distract.

Connection

Connection was achieved easily through their open network. Log-on is achieved with a browser button accepting terms of connection, and you‘re in. A healthy browsing session of two hours is offered. The speed was as good as McDonald’s, and was streaming 480p effortlessly on You Tube, and Hulu happily streamed its ads seamlessly.

Both Karen and I posted easily to Facebook, and we have no idea if Kellie in the Morning on KVYN played the Village People’s “In the Navy” as our Friday request (Karen said it was for Vet’s Day) (Update: Per Kellie, she didn't get our message on Facebook, but the tune was heavily requested and played anyway). Other social networks had no difficulties either.

So Where Are We?

• Food: 4 out of 5 healthy alternatives
• Coffee: 4 out of 5 affordable cups
• Connection: 5 out of 5 routers
• Service: 4 out of 5 baristas

Overall

I'll be back. This will be a great place to meet friends and family. The real estate available on the large tables could be advantageous as well. Lunch anyone?