The edge of the world (is Midvale Boulevard)

The Whole Foods in Madison used to be on University Avenue where Shorewood Boulevard empties onto it. That’s about a 7-minute drive from my house. I stopped in there all the time, just because I was driving by and I needed something that was easy to find there. Last year, Whole Foods moved over to the new Hilldale Yards development, still on University but just across Midvale. It’s now an 8-minute drive from my house. And I haven’t been there since. Somehow, everything east of Midvale is “my zone” — a place I a place I might pass by, and go without planning to go. And anything west of Midvale is only accessible by a dedicated trip.

By the way, the old Whole Foods location is now Fresh Mart, an international (but mostly Middle Eastern and Eastern European) grocery store. It’s awesome to have an international store the size of a Whole Foods but it is really hard to imagine how they’re making rent on a space that big. So please go there, buy some actually sharp feta and freekeh and ajvar and marinated sprats in a can! They have an extremely multicultural hot bar with great grape leaves and a coffeeshop with multiple kinds of baklava! I’m glad it’s in my zone.