Mon Apr 13, 2020, 01:54 PM

essme (1,207 posts)

Does anyone here remember those cool little "health food" stores in the seventies?

The ones that had homemade things like soap, and lotion....sold vegan sandwiches....and bulk food such as split peas, flour, nutritional yeast, etc?

You would walk in, and the gentle, light smell of sandlewood and patchouli would greet you as you entered?

IF you could....would you shop in one again? This is a serious question, btw--- I am thinking of opening one.

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168 replies	Author	Time	Post
Does anyone here remember those cool little "health food" stores in the seventies? (Original post)	essme	Apr 2020	OP
I would definitely shop in one again NT	Rorey	Apr 2020	#1
I do, and I would to an extent anyway	Tom Rinaldo	Apr 2020	#2
Oh, I wouldn't have the money	essme	Apr 2020	#7
I'd think there would be some stores like that around Asheville	nilram	Apr 2020	#119
That's where we've been shopping.	cilla4progress	Apr 2020	#3
What area of the country are you in?	essme	Apr 2020	#11
Washington state	cilla4progress	Apr 2020	#49
I suspect it's close to a certain Masonic Temple.	plimsoll	Apr 2020	#76
ummm...	cilla4progress	Apr 2020	#135
Thank you for being general	essme	Apr 2020	#162
Yes! n/t	RKP5637	Apr 2020	#4
I remember them in the 80s. One was a membership one... paid a fee to join. Very hippy place	Demovictory9	Apr 2020	#5
They still exist	RockCreek	Apr 2020	#6
We have food co-ops and single owner stores like that in Maine.	GreenPartyVoter	Apr 2020	#15
This is a cute one on the west coast	essme	Apr 2020	#19
Of course they still exist. Have you BEEN to the west coast?	flibbitygiblets	Apr 2020	#107
I lived in OR, before I moved home	essme	Apr 2020	#125
I would absolutely shop at one.	Zoonart	Apr 2020	#8
I LOVE New Hope!	essme	Apr 2020	#14
It is really beautiful.	Zoonart	Apr 2020	#27
I actually like the idea of local merchants and producers...	Wounded Bear	Apr 2020	#9
Wish we could decentralize. So many small towns like ours can't fill basic needs.	GreenPartyVoter	Apr 2020	#20
Yep, we've Walmarted our country...	Wounded Bear	Apr 2020	#23
I live in a small town with a few local mom and pops	kcr	Apr 2020	#28
Absolutely!	Nictuku	Apr 2020	#10
emphatically yes! {nt}	badseedboy	Apr 2020	#12
In a heartbeat!! we have wonderful local co-ops now where I live	Peacetrain	Apr 2020	#13
The one I remember fondly was from the early 90's.	demmiblue	Apr 2020	#16
We shop at Sprouts. It's a health food chain	Xipe Totec	Apr 2020	#17
Yes, we have such a shop near us...a pretty good little place, ...	SWBTATTReg	Apr 2020	#18
Some of those are still around.	totodeinhere	Apr 2020	#21
Co-ops... the smell of Celestial Seasonings Roastaroma Mocha tea hung in the air	ehrnst	Apr 2020	#22
they are actually opening a co-op grocery store in my hood.	mopinko	Apr 2020	#24
There's still a few out there...	Heartstrings	Apr 2020	#25
I thought they never went away, as Santa Barbara has 3 Natural Cafes, & one opened out into...	Hekate	Apr 2020	#26
More likely about where you live...	Wounded Bear	Apr 2020	#33
Yes, I would. Go for it!	dameatball	Apr 2020	#29
Yes, we use a small coop.	33taw	Apr 2020	#30
Yes, there is still one where I live.	Turin_C3PO	Apr 2020	#31
What a gorgeous area of the country	essme	Apr 2020	#36
Silver City? One of my favorite little towns.	panader0	Apr 2020	#111
Yes, you guessed it.	Turin_C3PO	Apr 2020	#120
Would like to drive that way since Great Lakes airways went out of business.	peacebuzzard	Apr 2020	#157
We have one of those long-time independent shops - and the regional chain also has stand alone	SharonClark	Apr 2020	#32
Yes!	Mossfern	Apr 2020	#34
The ones around here had little food	Retrograde	Apr 2020	#35
So, local fresh produce	essme	Apr 2020	#38
There are a few locally-owned grocery stores	Retrograde	Apr 2020	#159
My hometown had a couple, still has one but of course the grocery chains and Walmart has stuff too.	Thomas Hurt	Apr 2020	#37
Grocery stores and Walmart	essme	Apr 2020	#39
Maine has many of them	sueunderh	Apr 2020	#40
We have several where I live. Food Co-ops are great too.	jalan48	Apr 2020	#41
In Fremont CA one of them still exists	musette_sf	Apr 2020	#42
I remember and miss the Pot-pouri (sp.?) I haven't seen any in years.	northoftheborder	Apr 2020	#43
Come to Brooklyn Heights and shop at PERELANDRA...	brooklynite	Apr 2020	#44
Oh gosh, yes!!	Alliepoo	Apr 2020	#45
There are several here in rural Montana. I shop in them all the time. nt	Maru Kitteh	Apr 2020	#46
Absolutely....got my first Fresh Carrot juice drink...1977	ashredux	Apr 2020	#47
In the 80s and it was called Whole Foods and it was run by a bunch of hippies.	Liberal In Texas	Apr 2020	#48
I used to shop at #1...on Lamar Blvd. Now they have the "Mother Ship" just down the street...	ashredux	Apr 2020	#51
Did that become the Whole Foods? I thought that the owner before Bezos bought it was a	Blue_true	Apr 2020	#137
John Mackey - Yes he is a Libertarian and strongly anti-union	TexasBushwhacker	Apr 2020	#147
Why did he succeed in building a large company?	Blue_true	Apr 2020	#149
Yeah, kinda crazy	TexasBushwhacker	Apr 2020	#160
Here, the has been a locally owned co-operative store that does all those things	csziggy	Apr 2020	#50
Yup...	evilhime	Apr 2020	#52
I buy my milk	Trueblue Texan	Apr 2020	#53
I miss Crystal Market on Pearl Street - a vegetarian market.	CrispyQ	Apr 2020	#54
I shop at the Raibow Grocery in SF all the time. It's an employee owned co-op.	diane in sf	Apr 2020	#55
Sorry, I didn't see your post until after I submitted mine.	alwaysinasnit	Apr 2020	#67
Like this?	littlemissmartypants	Apr 2020	#56
I shopped at The Coop in Santa Cruz	bhikkhu	Apr 2020	#57
The guy who ran the one in my town said to choose a location at the edge of	3Hotdogs	Apr 2020	#58
Yes I would shop there	marlakay	Apr 2020	#59
This message was self-deleted by its author	Mosby	Apr 2020	#60
Why, you are talking about Colorado's Natural Grocers stores (formerly Vitamin Cottage).	colorado_ufo	Apr 2020	#61
When I became a vegan	Codeine	Apr 2020	#62
Sure do.	Harker	Apr 2020	#63
I am loving the comments on this thread	essme	Apr 2020	#64
Sure wish this little market was within walking distance...	Backseat Driver	Apr 2020	#65
I know of one (a co-op) in San Francisco.	alwaysinasnit	Apr 2020	#66
Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.	ancianita	Apr 2020	#68
I do every week	JustAnotherGen	Apr 2020	#69
We have one here. It started as a co-op. It's grown a lot since it began in the	tblue37	Apr 2020	#70
We have one in Oak Lawn, Illinois.	guillaumeb	Apr 2020	#71
There's one within walking distance for me	SnowCritter	Apr 2020	#72
We have them in DC	IronLionZion	Apr 2020	#73
It would be loverly.	BeckyDem	Apr 2020	#74
Up here in Ulster County, NY	HootieMcBoob	Apr 2020	#75
The original Whole Foods	Texasgal	Apr 2020	#77
There is a very popular one in my neighborhood.	niyad	Apr 2020	#78
They are still there and still thriving	aikoaiko	Apr 2020	#79
Here's one that survived.	Marcuse	Apr 2020	#80
Hell Yeah! They closed the one in my neighborhood 5-years ago.	0nirevets	Apr 2020	#81
Funny...	Blue Owl	Apr 2020	#82
Yes, I shop at one regularly but it's closed because of Covid 19 at the moment.	meadowlander	Apr 2020	#83
We still have one in lower Alabama.	Ferrets are Cool	Apr 2020	#84
Yes.	LakeArenal	Apr 2020	#85
In the 80s for me	get the red out	Apr 2020	#86
Those cool little stores were put out of business by Whole Foods and Amazon. nt	SunSeeker	Apr 2020	#87
Not really. There are some that have a very successful online presence.	Blue_true	Apr 2020	#138
What you have in mind sounds wonderful to me. We have two very similar...	WePurrsevere	Apr 2020	#88
To be successful you'd have to make sure you open it in an area that's educated and liberal.	llmart	Apr 2020	#89
If they could make a decent Powerhouse,	seltzerwater	Apr 2020	#90
You mean like this one?	localroger	Apr 2020	#91
I still can.	ChazInAz	Apr 2020	#92
We have one in my little town. It is a great place to shop. I buy all of	japple	Apr 2020	#93
Yes!	Tall Poppy	Apr 2020	#94
Open Harvest Co-op in Lincoln, Nebraska	jayschool2013	Apr 2020	#95
Many stores like that in Vermont and CSAs for agricultural produce	karynnj	Apr 2020	#96
Yes and yes.	Mickju	Apr 2020	#97
Yes.	LisaM	Apr 2020	#98
In the part of rural Vermont where I live	democrank	Apr 2020	#99
Already do! It's been around since 1967!	woodsprite	Apr 2020	#100
My parents were hippies and this description immediately brought back the smell and feel.	Pisces	Apr 2020	#101
co-ops and health food stores	ahlnord	Apr 2020	#102
In a heartbeat.	MuseRider	Apr 2020	#103
Yeah I remember those. Most college towns at least had them.	captain queeg	Apr 2020	#104
I used to work in one..back in the late 60's...	Hulk	Apr 2020	#105
I am so enjoying these stories	essme	Apr 2020	#127
I hear ya.....this are the times when it's just going to be hard to feel great.	Hulk	Apr 2020	#142
That is the exact conversation I had with	essme	Apr 2020	#143
Wow...yes.	Hulk	Apr 2020	#144
I remember them well	SouthernLiberal	Apr 2020	#106
Yes! ❤️❤️❤️	tosh	Apr 2020	#108
that's where I first got turned on to yogurt, before big dairy poisoned it with sugar	joanbarnes	Apr 2020	#109
i belonged to a food co op in the 70s..was it like that?	samnsara	Apr 2020	#110
Of Course	Roy Rolling	Apr 2020	#112
In Denver in the early 80s, The Rainbow Grocery...	3catwoman3	Apr 2020	#113
I just want everyone to know that I am reading	essme	Apr 2020	#114
We are very fortunate to have Morning Glory in Brunswick, Maine.	PWPippinesq	Apr 2020	#115
I shop at one weekly.	DEbluedude	Apr 2020	#116
Sundance Natural Foods, Eugene, Oregon... Since 1971	WheelWalker	Apr 2020	#117
Red Barn in the whit	aidbo	Apr 2020	#129
Another jungle remnant of the hippie counterculture. One of the best!	WheelWalker	Apr 2020	#140
Definitely!	denvine	Apr 2020	#118
I do! I had one across the street from my apartment in college.	redstatebluegirl	Apr 2020	#121
Consider the presence of big name competitors	customerserviceguy	Apr 2020	#122
of course	handmade34	Apr 2020	#123
That is darling!!!	essme	Apr 2020	#124
We had one like that in Minneapolis into the 1990s.	Jirel	Apr 2020	#126
They all got bought by Whole Foods.	yardwork	Apr 2020	#128
There's one in my city. I will not shop there.	jmowreader	Apr 2020	#130
Do it!	Patterson	Apr 2020	#131
The person needs to be careful.	Blue_true	Apr 2020	#139
This person holds a	essme	Apr 2020	#145
Is you Masters in Business Administration and do you have practical experience actually RUNNING	Blue_true	Apr 2020	#146
I am sorry if my answer was snippy	essme	Apr 2020	#161
On my business failure, I lost closet to $1 million dollars and ended up $200,000 in debt.	Blue_true	Apr 2020	#163
Maybe you misunderstood:	essme	Apr 2020	#164
I won't delete my posts.	Blue_true	Apr 2020	#165
I owned a business.	Patterson	Apr 2020	#166
How did it go? Some people hit the mark on the first try, most, like me don't. nt	Blue_true	Apr 2020	#167
Fair.	Patterson	Apr 2020	#168
We still have one!	OhZone	Apr 2020	#132
I am one of maybe a thousand owners of one in my small city.	femmedem	Apr 2020	#133
That's where I shop now.	Chellee	Apr 2020	#134
There is a very successful healthfood store in my town.	Blue_true	Apr 2020	#136
I remember they smelled like nasty vitamins.	miyazaki	Apr 2020	#141
Rainbow Grocery in San Francisco is still unassuming.	displacedtexan	Apr 2020	#148
I got terrible food poisoning from one....	Happy Hoosier	Apr 2020	#150
I remember the "head shops"--	dawg day	Apr 2020	#151
Little bit of insight here	Ahpook	Apr 2020	#152
Beehive. Bird Road South Miami. I think it may still be there.	bullimiami	Apr 2020	#153
I'd definitely shop at such a place.	Wednesdays	Apr 2020	#154
I certainly do. Went into many of them.	peacebuzzard	Apr 2020	#155
We have one of those in Centralia Wa and one in Chehalis Wa.	Doreen	Apr 2020	#156
There is one of those right near my house	Merlot	Apr 2020	#158

Response to essme (Original post)

Mon Apr 13, 2020, 01:56 PM

Rorey (8,402 posts)

Does anyone here remember those cool little "health food" stores in the seventies?

1. I would definitely shop in one again NT

2. I do, and I would to an extent anyway

7. Oh, I wouldn't have the money

119. I'd think there would be some stores like that around Asheville

3. That's where we've been shopping.

11. What area of the country are you in?

49. Washington state

76. I suspect it's close to a certain Masonic Temple.

135. ummm...

162. Thank you for being general

4. Yes! n/t

5. I remember them in the 80s. One was a membership one... paid a fee to join. Very hippy place

6. They still exist

15. We have food co-ops and single owner stores like that in Maine.

19. This is a cute one on the west coast

107. Of course they still exist. Have you BEEN to the west coast?

125. I lived in OR, before I moved home

8. I would absolutely shop at one.

14. I LOVE New Hope!

27. It is really beautiful.

9. I actually like the idea of local merchants and producers...

20. Wish we could decentralize. So many small towns like ours can't fill basic needs.

23. Yep, we've Walmarted our country...

28. I live in a small town with a few local mom and pops

10. Absolutely!

12. emphatically yes! {nt}

13. In a heartbeat!! we have wonderful local co-ops now where I live

16. The one I remember fondly was from the early 90's.

17. We shop at Sprouts. It's a health food chain

18. Yes, we have such a shop near us...a pretty good little place, ...

21. Some of those are still around.

22. Co-ops... the smell of Celestial Seasonings Roastaroma Mocha tea hung in the air

24. they are actually opening a co-op grocery store in my hood.

25. There's still a few out there...

26. I thought they never went away, as Santa Barbara has 3 Natural Cafes, & one opened out into...

33. More likely about where you live...

29. Yes, I would. Go for it!

30. Yes, we use a small coop.

31. Yes, there is still one where I live.

36. What a gorgeous area of the country

111. Silver City? One of my favorite little towns.

120. Yes, you guessed it.

157. Would like to drive that way since Great Lakes airways went out of business.

32. We have one of those long-time independent shops - and the regional chain also has stand alone

34. Yes!

35. The ones around here had little food

38. So, local fresh produce

159. There are a few locally-owned grocery stores

37. My hometown had a couple, still has one but of course the grocery chains and Walmart has stuff too.

39. Grocery stores and Walmart

40. Maine has many of them

41. We have several where I live. Food Co-ops are great too.

42. In Fremont CA one of them still exists

43. I remember and miss the Pot-pouri (sp.?) I haven't seen any in years.

44. Come to Brooklyn Heights and shop at PERELANDRA...

45. Oh gosh, yes!!

46. There are several here in rural Montana. I shop in them all the time. nt

47. Absolutely....got my first Fresh Carrot juice drink...1977

48. In the 80s and it was called Whole Foods and it was run by a bunch of hippies.

51. I used to shop at #1...on Lamar Blvd. Now they have the "Mother Ship" just down the street...

137. Did that become the Whole Foods? I thought that the owner before Bezos bought it was a

147. John Mackey - Yes he is a Libertarian and strongly anti-union

149. Why did he succeed in building a large company?

160. Yeah, kinda crazy

50. Here, the has been a locally owned co-operative store that does all those things

52. Yup...

53. I buy my milk

54. I miss Crystal Market on Pearl Street - a vegetarian market.

55. I shop at the Raibow Grocery in SF all the time. It's an employee owned co-op.

67. Sorry, I didn't see your post until after I submitted mine.

56. Like this?

57. I shopped at The Coop in Santa Cruz

58. The guy who ran the one in my town said to choose a location at the edge of

59. Yes I would shop there

61. Why, you are talking about Colorado's Natural Grocers stores (formerly Vitamin Cottage).

62. When I became a vegan

63. Sure do.

64. I am loving the comments on this thread

65. Sure wish this little market was within walking distance...