Alfalfa's

Alfalfa's Market is a Boulder, Colorado natural foods store that flourished in the 1980s and 1990s after Mark Retzloff and others first founded it, then sold to Wild Oats. After Whole Foods Market purchased the Wild Oats chain in 2007, the Federal Trade Commission ordered Whole Foods to sell some locations and some Wild Oats intellectual property in order to "ease anti-competitive concerns", according to the Boulder Daily Camera. "When 1651 Broadway and the trade name, logo and brand for Alfalfa's were put on the block, Retzloff's interest was piqued . . ." the April 2011 newspaper article continued. The store was re-opened that April, but before the first year was up, it laid off 15 to 20 percent of its 175 employees "because sales ha[d] fallen short of expectations."

According to the store's website, "Alfalfa’s became part of that consolidation in the mid-1990s when it merged with Wild Oats during the unprecedented hey days [sic] of growth in the natural and organic products market. Now, more than 25 years after our first store opened its doors at the corner of Broadway and Arapahoe in Boulder, we’re back at that same location. And we’re back with the same passion our founders had when Alfalfa’s was just a glimmer in their eyes. It all started in the early 1980s when founders Mark Retzloff, Hass Hassan[,] and Lyle Davis conjured up the idea of Alfalfa’s..."

Contact Information
Alfalfa’s Market Guest Services 1651 Broadway Boulder, Co 80302 Phone: (720) 420-8400 Email: guestservices AT alfalfas DOT com Web: http://www.alfalfas.com

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