ack in 2009, we covered the opening of Lakewood Whole Foods Market like it was the Super Bowl.
There were so many stories and columns from initial whispers to the grand opening. Lakewood/East Dallas Advocate kept readers abreast of construction updates with a 24/7 webcam feed.
Now that the hype has died down, the Whole Foods in the triangular space between Abrams Road, Richmond Avenue and Gaston Avenue is a landmark. A point of reference when giving directions, a meeting place, a destination that we’d like to be able to walk to safely. And it’s centrally located between Lakewood proper, Lakewood Heights and Lakewood Hills.
Before Whole Foods, that space was the local birthplace of the supermarket. After World War II, Safeway started building a large store there to replace two smaller ones nearby, according to Teresa Musgrove Judd’s book, Lakewood 1925-1985: A History of the Shopping Center. It opened in 1947.
This was a big deal because shopping before required more stops…