Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Breaking news regarding PEACHES!!!

Sorry folks, I don't normally do this, but just as I hit send on my last e-mail Johnny Livesay, produce manager, came by with a fresh Fredericksburg peach and it was so melt in your mouth delicious that I thought I best tell you lest you think I was saving them all for myself!

WARNING: these peaches require a bib (not included with purchase)

That is all,
Dan
Peach enthusiast


Bike to work, graduation, monks visit, Farm tour, wowza!

Wow! Lots to report this week!

Scroll down for more on:
Monks Visit
Tecolote Farm Tour
The deli cooks so you don't have to!
Bike to Work day!
The newest and best Wheatsville printed merchandise!
Expansion update

MONKS VISIT
You have probably heard about the Tibetan Monks visiting from the Gaden Shartse Monastery. They've been around Austin for a few weeks. Well' I am excited to announce that they will be coming by Wheatsville next Tuesday May 20th at 2pm for a blessing of the co-op and our expansion project. So, if you've been waiting for the perfect event to say hello to these fine folks from Tibet, now is your chance! We'll be making a financial offering to them that they will use for the New Gaden Shartse Charitable Hospital,
which officially opened February 1, 2007. This new facility is located within Camp #1 of the Tibetan Settlement in Mundgod, Karnataka, India.
The Shartse Hospital has opened to serve anyone in the region, monks, nuns, and lay people, both Tibetan and Indian.
Many monks, nuns and lay people are currently in desperate need of medical and dental care. Illnesses, such as tuberculosis and diabetes, also need to be treated. We are happyo to have them come and bless Wheatsville and to offer aid to this worthy cause.

FARM TOUR
Wheatsville owners and organic farmers, Katie Kraemer and David Pitre invite Wheatsville owners to visit their farm.

Tecolote Farm is a certified organic vegetable farm in operation since 1994. Sundays are harvest days. They harvest for Monday basket deliveries in the morning, then clean, sort, and pack vegetables in the shady wash area after lunch.
Coop members are welcome to join the Wheatsville tour and should bring wide-brimmed hats, closed shoes, and water. Please leave your pups at home.
We've got about a dozen folks signed up already, so get on board and check out one of our favorite local farmers in their natural habitat!

Fresh in the Deli!
The Deli case is overflowing with delicious treats! Depending on which day of the week you come into the store, you may be tantalized by the spicy bite of Rainbow Chard Enchiladas, sweet and filling Stuffed Red Bell Peppers, blue cheese and hazelnut-studded Lamb Meatballs from local Loncitos lamb, or mango-laden Curry Lime Chicken Salad. Our May salsa of the month, Tomatillo Fire is in stock and topping many Deli tacos, and our bakery cases are packed with delectable treats like the sweetly dark Chocolate Espresso Cake. Don't forget that our black, green and hibiscus mint iced teas are on sale this month with member coupons to help keep you cool!
 
Popcorn Tofu Po'Boy's are always a great choice for lunch.  A fresh baked hoagie filled with popcorn tofu, your choice of veggies and our own yummy Cashew Tamari dressing. 
 
Graduation is up and coming for our local scholars.  Check out our catering trays for your parties.  We have Crudite Trays, Meat & cheeses, Medittereanean, plus Fruit & cheese trays.  All of these can be ordered with 2 days notice from the Deli.  Or you can make your own spread – walnut pecan pate, hempseed hummus, & baba ganouj.  Give us a call and we will help make your graduation party as stress free as possible.

In the meat department
Check out our Buddy's Natural boneless, skinless chicken thighs on sale!!!!!  Regularly priced $4.39lb, on sale for $3.99lb.  These are great for fajitas served with grilled onions & peppers.  Also, a great addition to soup, due to its great flavor.
 

 
BIKE TO WORK DAY!
Bike to Work Day is this Friday, the 16th.  Wheatsville will be one of the many pitstops for your biking pleasure.  We will be setup on our patio from 7am-9am, offering an assortment of bagels, cream cheese, juice, coffee, and fruit.  Swing by and visit us on your bike during this time, we would love to be a part of a great start for your day.
 
Owner suggestion for other owners!

I had an owner named Chris come in the other day and tell me that she was going to try and bus to Wheatsville more due to some of the parking challenges and her solution to make it easier is a foldable grocery cart. She's going to get one and suggested that people consider getting them, too. She said that it's what people in real cities do and was excited to be getting one. You can get one here:

Cool New Wheatsville Merchandise!!!
 
There is lots of exciting new Wheatsville merchandise arriving this month!  Last week our new re-usable shopping bags came in.  They have our new Texas logo on them, and are only $1.99.  We also received our new heavy duty Recycled Cotton Wheatsville bags and they are awesome!
 
I am really excited about our new Wheatsville Travel Mugs.  Made from 100% US grown resources such as soy proteins, potatoes starches, corn, wheat, tapioca or beets!
They are nice heavy duty mugs, and they come in blue and green for only $9.99!
 
How about refillable bottles from Wheatsville and the Austin Farmers Market? You can bring these bottles to the Farmers Market in the Triangle on Wednesdays or downtown on Saturdays and get them refilled with Reverse Osomosis water for free! Wow!

For all of you with little Wheatsville Co-opers, in the next week or two we will finally have Infant and Toddler T-shirts with our new logos on them.  I was very excited to find some Organic Cotton Infant Onesies as well. 

Expansion Update

Things are proceeding smoothly.I'll continue to thank you for your patience so far during the project. I'd like to remind you that you will find it easier to park early in the morning before 11am and after 8pm. We have more parking available behind the store after 5pm during the week and all day on the weekends. One other piece of advice, take the FIRST parking spot that you encounter when pulling into the parking lot. Don't drive around to see if there is a better one. I often see people pass up a spot or two immediately upon entering the lot and then not finding a spot on the other side. If you walk, ride your bike or bus, you should have easy sailing still!

I hope that you have a great week!

Dan
Wheatsville GM and e-mail (and MySpace, Facebook and Youtube) guy