The Great Granola Tour of ‘06: Comparing Indy’s Natural Grocery Stores

Georgetown Market

Georgetown Market is one of two local family-owned grocers on the list. It's been around since 1973, and although the building is modern, the store stays close to its natural roots. The medium-sized space has a little bit of everything, so while you won't find ten different kinds of veggie burgers, you'll probably find most of your natural food needs. Georgetown has a pretty small produce section, but it's all organic. A small prepared foods/deli counter offers ready-to-go treats like vegan enchiladas ($5.99/lb) and spinach feta wraps ($3.49 each), and a limited bulk foods aisle offers an assortment of flours, nuts, and grains. They have an enormous vitamin and supplement selection, including body building powders. The staff seems dedicated and knowledgeable. Prices can be a little higher that elsewhere, but of course this local business doesn't have the purchasing advantages of some of the larger chain stores.

If you have special dietary needs or take your organic-only diet seriously, then this is the market for you.

4375 Georgetown Road
Indianapolis, IN 46254
317-293-9525
http://www.georgetownmarket.com

Trader Joe's

Trader Joe's is a national chain that started in California and still has the feeling of a casual, upscale market you might stumble into in the middle of your Sonoma winery tour (even though it's now owned by Germany's Aldi Group). The stores are small, which is actually a convenience unless you try to shop on Saturday afternoon, when it becomes annoyingly overcrowded. They somehow manage a festive air for a grocery store, with balloons for kids and friendly cashiers who all dress in Hawaiian shirts. Trader Joe's is a fun place to shop, because they have lots of exotic and delightful items you won't find anyplace else (many sporting the Trader Joe's brand), such as cashew-macadamia nut butter and grapefruit soda. Even better, the prices are surprisingly reasonable. They have a small and pretty random produce and fresh meat selection, and there is no onsite deli or meat counter. The payoff is in the frozen foods aisle, where you can find all manner of unique offerings like heat-and-eat cioppino.

The real star of Trader Joe’s is their line of Charles Shaw wines, known the nation over as "Two Buck Chuck" for its astoundingly low price of $1.99 in many locations (although it's closer to "Three Buck Chuck" in Indy). Even more surprising, it's not half bad.

While Trader Joe’s does carry more organic fare than a traditional grocery store, it's still pretty hit-and-miss. You have to read labels carefully to know what you're getting (for instance, the chicken breast is "natural" and "minimally processed" but that doesn't mean free-range or organic).

Trader Joe's is a great hit-it-once-a-month store for someone who likes to try different things to round out the standard shopping list, and is looking for good prices, especially on wine. If all-organic is important to you though, you could spend a lot of time poring over labels.

2902 West 86th Street
(across from Sam's Club near Michigan Road)
Indianapolis, IN 46268
317-337-1880
http://www.traderjoes.com

and

5473 East 82nd Street
(just east of Allisonville Road on the south side of the street)
Indianapolis, IN 46250
317-595-8950

Wild Oats

Wild Oats is the mothership natural foods store (at least until Whole Foods comes to town, then watch out). I’ve previously expressed my affection for this store. It has... well, almost everything: a big produce section, meat counter, large prepared foods selection, juice and coffee bar, salad bar, large bulk foods aisle: in a word, choices. Choices don't come cheap, though, and Wild Oats can get pricey if you plan to do most of your regular grocery shopping here. And while it's big by natural grocery store standards, they still don't have everything that a regular store has (aluminum foil being one item in particular). Not everything at Wild Oats is organic, but they do a pretty good job of indicating what's what, particularly in the produce section.

If you want lots of variety, especially in meat and produce, and you don't mind the paying a premium for organic/small batch/natural fare, then Wild Oats is right up your alley.

1300 E. 86th St. (in Nora Plaza)
Indianapolis, Indiana, 46240
317-706-0900
http://www.wildoats.com

and

14598 Clay Terrace Boulevard (in Clay Terrace)
Carmel, Indiana, 46032
317-569-1517

Sunflower Market

Indy is home to the brand new and very first Sunflower Market, though its parent company, SuperValu, has plans to open 250 more stores in the next five years. (Who would ever suspect that Indy would be on the bleeding edge of grocery retail expansion strategies?)

Located in the heart of Broad Ripple, Sunflower is a mid-sized, well organized space with some nice touches like a cold room for produce and some interesting finds like grape syrup and ghee. Not everything is organic, but they appear to make the effort. Although not as big as Wild Oats, they have a little bit of everything, including prepared to-go foods and bulk foods. They don't have a butcher, deli, or bakery, but you can buy fresh bread, baked sweets and meat anyway (the fresh meat is almost exclusively Coleman brand). There are a few tables in the middle of the store if you want to eat in. They do have a supplements section, but it's not as extensive as the other stores on the list. I went here on a Tuesday at lunchtime, and the store was relatively empty and easy to navigate. The aisles are clearly marked and the prices are easy to find. I haven't been on the weekend but I imagine it could be a real zoo. It will be interesting to see how it competes with (or includes itself in) the nearby farmer's market when warmer months arrive.

If you're feeling oh-so-very 21st century, you can use Sunflower Market's fingerprint scanning technology, where you just need to swipe your finger over their scanner to make a purchase, which is debited out of your checking account. If you want to sign up, come in with your driver's license and a blank check. After that, all you need to come in with is your fingers. It's a great idea for all of those thirsty, wallet-less runners passing by on the Monon Trail.

This is a great addition to the area (that crappy Kroger needed some competition). With decent prices, a central location, and lots of organic/natural options, this is a handy and worthwhile stop on errand-running day.

1021 Broad Ripple Avenue (just east of the Monon)
Indianapolis, IN 46220
317-465-0164
http://www.sunflowermarkets.com

Good Earth Natural Food Company

Along with Georgetown Market, Good Earth is the other local family-owned store, and I'm sorry to say I almost overlooked it. It was only at Steph's insistence that we stopped in. Good Earth is also in the heart of Broad Ripple, and has been since 1971. It's easy to miss, though, because it's in a small house near the canal, which looks like it can't possibly contain a grocery store's worth of items, but somehow it does, plus more.

The store is a cozy labyrinth of little rooms and tiny aisles jammed full of anything you could possibly need. Their produce area is a little skimpy, but they more than make up for it with their incredibly comprehensive vitamin and supplement selection. They are pretty well stocked in all other regards as well. When I walked in, I didn't think there was any way they would have everything on my price comparison list, and while they fell a little short in produce, they had almost everything else. In addition to food, they also offer a shoe store (with a large Birkenstock selection and some very cool looking boots). The shoes are upstairs, along with a book section, a beauty products room, a tea room, and an entire herb and aromatherapy shop. I still can't believe that crammed everything into that little house.

There were plenty of friendly people to help you out (and plenty of people hanging out -- it was impossible to distinguish the customers from the merchants).

Good Earth is truly rooted in its early 70s beginnings, in the best sense. They have been doing this from the beginning, and have a 30+ years of knowledge about the products they sell. This and Georgetown Market are the places to go if you want to patronize the merchants who are the real deal, no corporate strings attached.

6350 Guilford Avenue (just north of the rainbow bridge)
Indianapolis, IN 46220
317-253-3709
http://www.good-earth.com/

Price Comparison Chart

Below is the price comparison chart for some items that I usually buy. Note that not all of the stores have the exact same brands, so it’s not always a straight comparison. I tried to note differences in amounts, or where something wasn’t organic. I also included the Marsh at 62nd and Keystone for a comparison to prices at a "regular" store.