The Carriage House Meets Ariel Norwood and Andrew Smith of Whole Foods
Meet Ariel Norwood and Andrew Smith. Norwood is Marketing Team Leader and Smith Associate Team Leader of the specialty department at the Whole Foods Market in Chelsea. Norwood and Smith are dedicated employees who strive to maintain the organic, sustainable and farmer friendly feel of Whole Foods. The market’s success and popularity is due, in large part, to the very close relationships they’ve built among their experienced staff members and with the regular Chelsea shoppers.
Whole Foods
250 7th Ave
New York, NY 10001 USA
Tell me about the history of Whole Foods.
AN: We’re a 30-year-old company based out of Austin, Texas. We were originally a very small team with only a handful of members. But the company has obviously grown.
How does the Whole Foods team operate?
AN: From a production standpoint, we like to encourage people to think out of the box and be creative. We’re very open to team members bringing in new products for their sections of the store. This is really empowering for the people who work here because they have the opportunity to express what they’re interested in.
AS: Also, we’re not labeled as managers at Whole Foods because there’s no task that we don’t do, from the most complex to the most mundane. The other day I spent three hours cleaning out drains! The structure at Whole Foods is such that the leaders delegate while leading by example.
When did the Chelsea location open? How does it compare to other Whole Foods stores around the world?
AN: We just celebrated our 10-year anniversary this past February and this is the oldest location in New York City. Specific to Chelsea, we work hard to build partnerships with other local businesses. We like to give back to the community and our customers. For example, over the holidays we did a MacBook Air giveaway and “tweet-away” in conjunction with Tekserve. We also donated one hundred apple pies to the local Holy Apostle soup kitchen and Tekserve provided iPod shuffles to the volunteers.
Does this store host any classes?
AS: No, due to space limitations. However, once a month we invite three to five beer vendors to the market. They bring in their beer samples and we pair them with food that will attract customers. Where else can you go for three hours and get to sample 20 different beers?
How does Whole Foods contribute to widespread movements like “Support Your Local Farmer” and sustainability?
AS: We really excel at telling the story of where our products come from. If you look at a piece of our chicken, cheese or meat, you can trace it back to the farm. I think our customers appreciate the connection that we have with our farmers and distributors.
AN: Yeah, everything at Whole Foods is very transparent. For example, we’ve started color-coding and separating our meat so people know how it was handled.
How has the neighborhood transformed in the past few years?
AN: Chelsea is experiencing a renaissance and food revolution. There’s been a lot of construction, building developments and new openings like the Limelight Marketplace. There’s so much more life in the neighborhood and it’s very exciting!
For more information on Carriage House or to set up a site visit, please feel free to contact me at JTurken@warburgrealty.com, call 212.24 House (4-6873) or visit the website at www.Carriagehouse24.com