Foodies

Foodies — the latest brainchild of former Iron Horse Grill operator Ken Crotwell — has just opened in the old Video Library location. I don’t care for the place much, but, in the interests of being completely honest and above-board with this review, I must also admit that I’m inclined to be a little prejudiced against the joint from the get-go.

When Video Library downsized, the store moved just two doors down within the same shopping center. Many customers had trouble finding the new store, so the staff placed signs in the windows of the old location, directing them to the new one. But as soon as Ken Crotwell took ownership of the old Video Library space, someone from Foodies stopped by our new location and barked, “Tell your owner he can pay to keep those signs in my windows, or I’ll take ’em down!”

Now, bear in mind: while Crotwell had leased the space, he wasn’t using it yet. Construction on Foodies wouldn’t begin for another two months. In fact, for the next sixty days, the old store would remain dark and empty. Even so, because Video Library elected not to pay for the placement … the signs came down.

The new occupants were entirely within their rights to remove the signs. Upon review, though, the way the situation was handled strikes me as petty … and a pretty rotten way to introduce yourself to the neighbors, to boot.

So: these thoughts were on my mind when I made my first visit to Foodies this week.

As I walked through the doors, my first impression was, “Wow.” Over the last six months, the construction crews have gutted the old Video Library space, and the transformation is amazing. The suspended ceiling is gone, exposing the actual ceiling, painted black. The walls are lined with freezer and refrigerator cases. The retail floor is packed with grocery items. There’s a kitchen right smack dab in the middle of where the old DVD action movies and video games used to be.

I started with a stroll through the grocery section. Here, the shelves are lined with fresh fruit, breads, sauces, chips, ginger snaps, and other “gourmet” food products. Along the back wall, there’s a freezer case (stocked with Ben and Jerry’s and BlueBell ice cream, among other treats) and a cold case (with fresh sauces, packaged meals, take-and-bake pizzas, and an assortment of cakes and pies (the latter being commercial products which aren’t baked on-site).

In keeping with the “open kitchen” trend that’s so popular in restaurants these days, there’s even an open kitchen … which is, in turn, surrounded by yet another set of cold cases displaying fish, meat, and pre-prepared food. The stock changes from time to time; yesterday, there was more pasta salad and bean salad than I could shake a stick at, along with platters of chicken breasts, pork ribs, steaks, baked potatoes, and grilled veggies.

The real attraction, though, appears to be the “grab and go” hot foods — an ever-changing array of dishes (yesterday, there was spaghetti, a chicken dish, and an assortment of veggies and cobblers) available at both lunch and dinner. While I was on-site, most people were taking the grab and go concept pretty seriously. After grabbing their hot meal, they would go … without casting so much as a sidelong glance at the grocery section.

According to the Foodies website, Crotwell’s inspiration for the joint came while watching his kids play baseball. (The unhealthy, fast-food options available for families on the go, we are told, motivated him to crave healthy, home-cooked alternatives.) Perhaps I’m cynical, but I’ll wager a bigger inspiration for Foodies is Eatzi’s, a Dallas-based chain selling high-end chef-prepared grab-and-go cuisine. (Locations in Atlanta, Houston, and Rockville closed mysteriously in November 2006, but the Chicago branch, now owned by a group of independent investors, is still online.)

At Eatzi’s, you’ll also find shelves of gourmet goodies, freezers, and cold cases — but the heart of the shop, really, is the huge grab-and-go counter, where an army of friendly chefs are serving up not one, not two, not three, but dozens of entrees. You can buy ’em fully-cooked if you like, or take home the fixin’s, pop it all in the oven, and pass yourself off as a gourmet chef to family and friends. A visit to Eatzi’s is a jaw-dropping experience … and, most importantly, the food — in addition to being reasonably priced — is divine.

Compared to Eatzi’s, Foodies is very small, very quiet, and very limited — but it could also be argued that comparisons like this are unfair. After all, if something on the scale of Eatzi’s couldn’t stay open more than three or four years in Atlanta, it’s highly unlikely that northeast Jackson would support such a place.

But, I digress. In the end, I left Foodies with a slab of ribs and a half-pound of grilled squash. Later that day, these heated up easily (15 minutes in a 350 oven). The pork ribs were tasty enough, and the grilled vegetables were quite good, too — especially with a little parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

I didn’t try the hot lunch or hot dinner entrees yet, but probably will within a week or so.

So … what’s my verdict? Unfortunately, as currently implemented, I think Foodies is in for some trouble. First: remember those grocery items? Most of the stock — from the fresh fruit to the Ben and Jerry’s — can be purchased at any local grocery store for significantly less. Right now, that grocery store stock takes up a good 80% of the store’s retail space … and I can’t imagine for the life of me that it produces 80% of store revenue.

That pretty much spells doom for the grocery section … which leaves the kitchen, the grab-and-go meals, hot lunch items, and the catering service to generate enough revenue to pay the lease and utilities on a 5,000 square-foot space. In a word: yikes.

Second: Foodie’s stock of grab and go cooked veggies, pasta dishes, and entrees is actually pretty limited. As currently executed, the place is, essentially, a very good, very big grocery store deli … without the other essential items stocked by grocery store.

I’d encourage you, in fact, to compare Foodies to the new deli and hot meal counter at the McDade’s Market, just three blocks away. The space at McDade’s may not be as sleek … but many of the options offered at Foodies (including the veggies, pasta salads, and pre-fab cakes and pies) are available there … for less.

For the sake of those with a great deal of money invested in the place, I hope Foodies makes it .. and, in the end, I encourage you to give Foodies a try. Frankly, though, you might want to hurry. Unless the shop undergoes some dramatic reconfiguration — specializing in unique items you can’t get elsewhere and expanding its menu of chef-prepared selections — I fear that Foodies may soon go the way of the video store it replaced.