But, yes, the huge downside of Whole Foods is that it's just not usable as one's only supermarket. Not only do they not stock such things as name brand cereals, breakfast foods, ice cream, and the like but they are ridiculously overpriced for such staples as milk and eggs.

That's precisely what they do in Atlanta as well.

Kroger, Publix, and even Costco and Sams for staples, Whole Foods for the "gourmet" stuff and sometimes wine.

I think there's a better reason for the total pre-sale of those condos, though: the Sarasota real estate market is extremely hot. A 2,500+ house development was completely pre-sold before ground was broken for the first structure a couple of years ago.

Whole Foods is in an extremely good location (as, therefore, the condos). It's right downtown, a block from the public library and perhaps three blocks from the Gulf of Mexico. Lots of restaurants, theaters, clubs within walking distance.

I notice that Whole Foods here is most busy during the winter, when the snowbirds come flocking down. That may be due to their living in the area, or the fact that they are, almost by definition, upscale economically. Whole Foods is the biggest purveyor of organic foods, so they sort of have that market locked.

There are several competing grocery store chains in the area: Publix, Winn-Dixie, and SweetBay. The last is very high quality, but considerably cheaper than Whole Foods across the board. Meat and fish, for example, are between 1/3-1/2 less expensive. Their organic selections, though, are far more limited than Whole Foods.

I spend a lot of time in DC, too. I notice that Whole Foods on Wisconsin Ave. (in "Upper Georgetown") is having a heavy impact on the Georgetown ("Sexy") Safeway, a few block down the street. Safeway seems to be in some turmoil, trying to realign itself--at least locally.

I notice, too, that many in Georgetown do their basic shopping at Safeway and go to Whole Foods for top-quality meat and fish and, occasionally, produce. It's all an interesting market dynamic.