The Detroit Whole Foods, which opened today, has inspired a barrage of earnest conversation about the city's food deserts and affordability. To accommodate concerns that Whole Foods will be too expensive for regular Detroiters, the Midtown store is expected to offer lower prices than nearby branches of the national chain.

To test both their lower-prices-in-Detroit claim, and the idea that Whole Foods will be a significant oasis in the city's food desert, we've put together a small shopping list to compare costs and options at Detroit Whole Foods with their suburban stores and other grocers that Detroiters -- particularly in the (sigh) greater downtown area--would be likely to patronize.

Our list includes some basic staples (bread, milk, Cheerios, and peanut butter), prepared food items (sushi and rotisserie chicken), beverages (beer, wine, soda), packaged salad, and the ingredients for two dinners (spaghetti with tomato sauce and slow-cooker jambalaya).

It took a week's ration of patience, but I stood in line to get into the Midtown Whole Foods. It was packed with shoppers. Whether Detroit needs a Whole Foods may be a debatable question, but it's clear a lot of Detroiters wanted a Whole Foods because it seemed like the entire town showed up for the opening. 

Quick notes:

  • The staff is very helpful and seems to know the store well considering it just opened.
  • Their beer selection is better than the West Bloomfield Whole Foods. In the O.C. (don't call it that) Whole Foods had some local beers like Bell's and Short's, but the city store's craft beer choices from Michigan and around the country were much better.
  • The prices -- on Day One, at least -- also seem mostly lower than in West Bloomfield. Hopefully, the price points will hold as the hoopla dies down.

Oh, and based on the samples, their pizza kitchen is fantastic. A fellow could have a fantastic lunch just wandering around Whole Foods and partaking in the free offerings.

Here's how we fared with the shopping list.

Staples

  • Peanut Butter: $5.99/pound (but it's fresh ground and available in half-pound sizes)
  • "Morning O's": $2.19/10 oz. box
  • 2% Milk: $3.49/gallon
  • Packaged whole wheat bread: $2.99/loaf
  • Fresh Avalon bread: $4.99/loaf

Beverages

  • Bell's Oberan: $8.99/six-pack (sale price, normally $9.99/six)
  • Labbatt's Blue: $5.99/six-pack
  • Red/white table wine: $3/bottle (and on up from there)
  • 365-brand soda: $2.99/six-pack

Basic Dinner Salad

  • Pre-packaged garden salad: $2.99
  • Organic tomatoes: $2.99/pound

Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce

  • Spaghetti: $1.39/pound
  • Muir Glen organic sauce: $3.99/jar
  • Ground beef: $6.99/pound
  • Mushrooms: $3.49/eight-ounce container

Slow-cooker Jambalaya (we picked this recipe because it's not only easy to make and delicious but requires a wide range of ingredients from fresh meat to vegetables to packaged items like chicken broth and rice)

  • Fresh, raw peeled shrimp: $12.99/pound
  • Turkey sausage: $6.99/pound
  • Chicken breast: $8.99/pound (pre-packaged bulk $4.99/pound)
  • Pepper: $2.99/pond
  • Onion: $1.49/pound
  • Celery: $0.09/pound
  • Diced tomatoes: $3.39/28 oz. can
  • Chicken broth: $1.99/32 oz. carton

Prepared foods

  • Rotisserie chicken: $7.00
  • California roll: $7.99