Alfalfa’s Market 15 percent ahead of projections

BOULDER – Resurrected Alfalfa’s Market in Boulder has done about 15 percent better than expected since it reopened on Earth Day, April 22, according to co-founder Mark Retzloff.

But after about 10 weeks or so back in business, employees at the organic and natural grocery store are working hard to put on events that will bring more customers through the door, Retzloff said.

An all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast fundraiser on Saturday, July 30, with proceeds to benefit Community Food Share, is just one of the events that has been planned, said spokeswoman Sonja Tuitele. The store also hosts dog washes and other community events to lure in customers.

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“We were closed for nine months and people went other places,” Retzloff said. “I think we anticipated that people would be willing to change a little quicker than they have been. Behaviors take a while to change. We have to get them to come back to see what we are.”

In addition, some store departments weren’t as organized as Retzloff and partners would have liked when the store reopened at 1651 Broadway. Some computer systems to gather and produce data didn’t operate correctly, Retzloff said. And meat and seafood director Paul Gingrich was put in charge of prepared foods at the newly opened store when it didn’t perform as well as expected.

Retzloff said the Federal Trade Commission did not require Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods Market Inc. to share its previous sales numbers, but that employees who worked at the old store shared enough information for the new partners to figure out how things are going.

Privately held Alfalfa’s was closed for remodeling after the FTC ordered Whole Foods to sell a couple dozen locations.

The cheese and charcuterie department (charcuterie is the French word for pork deli meat butcher) has done better than expected, as has the bulk food section, including bulk oils, Retzloff said.

There’s also a strong lunch business, a growing dinner business, and liquor store sales that are 10 percent to 15 percent above predictions.

“You have to be mindful when you open a new store that … you take sales dollars from existing places. Our sales dollars come from other competitors here in town,” Retzloff said. “We know the neighborhoods surrounding our store are very happy that we’re back because they don’t have to go to 28th Street.”

The wellness department is not doing as well, but its sales numbers are growing every week, Retzloff said. Customers need time to develop relationships with staffers about health issues, so the slow growth makes sense, he said.

Retzloff said he also noticed Whole Foods employees are in the store several times a week – apparently to check on organic milk prices, among others. The Whole Foods store brand organic milk is “now truly a loss leader for them,” Retzloff said. “Since we opened, Whole Foods has significantly lowered their price on 365 organic milk.”

Representatives at the Whole Foods Boulder office did not respond to calls for comment.

Competition at fever pitch

But grocery store competition in general is at a fever pitch, with even chains such as King Soopers (owned by Kroger Co. in Cincinnati, Ohio) touting Colorado ties.

“Nobody buys more local produce than King Soopers,´ said Kelli McGannon, a spokeswoman. “We’re still very much in the community we serve.”

Locally owned grocery store Lucky’s Market at 3960 Broadway in Boulder works hard to keep customers coming back, too, said Nick Gulizia, general manager. Lucky’s employees know most of its customers’ names and use them, Gulizia said.

“We’ll let the big guys fight it out. We’re up the street, and we’ll keep rolling with what we’re doing,” Gulizia said.

Retzloff has not ruled out possible future growth for Alfalfa’s. Any new locations would duplicate Alfalfa’s existing “community store” feel, he said, as well as focus on giving “foodie” customers what they want. The existing store carries more than 400 varieties of cheese, for example, he said.

“We thrive on folks who want to experiment and who have a broad interest in food,” Retzloff said.

Calls to corporate offices of Sprouts Farmers Market, based in Phoenix, Ariz., and to Sunflower Farmers Market, also based in Phoenix, were not returned.