Where has Macro Gone

In case you missed it..... Macro Wholefoods has now closed and will make way for a Gourmet food chain called Thomas Dux (currently located only in NSW). I found this BLOG from a health store in Sydney and thought it summed up what has been going on and may be of interest to all you Organic supporters. So now is the time to get back to your local health and organic store and show them your support. For those of you who are wondering where you can find all your organic produce following the closure of Macro Armadale and Richmond.... Look no further than Sprout Health Store & Organic Grocer located at 123 Auburn Rd Hawthorn. Check us out online and visit us soon as we offer an extensive range which definately will satisfy your macro shopping list but we also offer a soulful shopping experience in our exciting little store, with Naturopaths in store and staff offering knowledgable advice on our products. Come and have lunch or a great organic coffee.

GrannySmith BLOG:
The demise of Macro Wholefoods shouldn’t go unremarked on this site.
Macro was an icon at Bondi. Many years ago it was at the forefront of the organic movement, long before we people in the organic world became an “organic industry”.
Macro was emulated but the original store remained true to its roots. I remember going in there once and, cheekily (because I already knew), asking a staff member if they stocked meat. The young dreadlocked woman fixed me with a stare and very carefully indicated every corner of the store with large waves of her hand as she told me: “We don’t carry meat anywhere here in this store.” She was very adamant I understood this and I admired her for her passion, her belief and her earnestness about a healthy diet for body, planet and our fellow creatures.
That was Macro. It was a reasonably small store but one that just buzzed with energy and the cafe always seemed packed.
Then it was bought by Pierce Cody and Brett Blundy.
It changed tack. It grew. It became part of an organic industry, where overall value was measured in dollars and the whole was washed in various shades of green. That wasn’t necessarily bad but Pierce Cody was constantly ready to tell everyone who’d listen that this strategy was the only way forward. At the same time he promised the bright and easy future of organic retailing, he denigrated the “spotty-fruited, hippy past”, whose work over many decades in fact provided him with the point from which he was jumping off.
My friend Barbara Murray, who died last Xmas Eve after a long battle with cancer, owned, with husband John, a wonderful store in Crows Nest called Annabel’s. It stood valiantly against the sudden Macro onslaught across the road but couldn’t survive more than a few weeks.
Now Macro itself has failed, it seems a pity so much was lost along the way and all for naught. Cody never realised organic retailing isn’t as easy as he was making out and that a lot of what he attempted was on the shoulders of people who’d done the hard yards before him and whose efforts he failed to recognize or acknowledge. When the brand-new Concord store failed after just weeks, he blamed the local populace for being not the right demographic. Hubris became the word that occured to me every time I thought about Macro.
There was none of the original spirit of Macro left. It was merely a name grafted onto something different. Struggling quietly and denying rumours of a sellout, Macro kept its doors open until the behemoth Woolworths came along. The massive national supermarket chain gobbled up the struggling Macro a few months ago to acquire sites for the expansion of its Thomas Dux branded stores. As a competitor organic retailer, I was saddened to see the demise of Macro but it was already far from its roots.
As of writing (Macro closed entirely last weekend), their website is still functioning, promising stores far and wide. Full of bluster, no-one ever went back to gauge the reality against the promises. The flashing website now seems like a tatty plastic bag caught in the branches of a tree. One day soon, someone at Woolies will flick off the switch and then Macro will be no more than a memory.
This entry was posted on Sunday, June 28th, 2009 at 5:56

Us

Kate & Hayley (Sisters and Co-owners of Sprout)

Sprout Photos

Cabbage & Silverbeet Salad Recipe

Cabbage & Silverbeet Salad Recipe

Ingredients: All available at Sprout (when in season)
1/4 Organic Red cabbage finely shredded
1/4 Organic Green Cabbage finely shredded
2 Large Silverbeet leaves finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
Juice of 1 Lemon
1.5 tbsp Mirin
1 tsp Tamari
1/4 tsp sesame oil
1.5 tbsp Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil (We love Hickorys Run Organic Olive Oil)
1/2 tsp of Japanes Plum vinegar
1/4 tsp grated fresh ginger
Salt & Pepper to season

Putting It all Togethor:
1- combine cabbage, silverbeet & parsley in a bowl
2- in separate bowl make dressing , combine all the ingredients and mix well
3- Pour dressing on salad and mix through well with your hands
4- Serve fresh and raw with fish, chicken or enjou on its own

Recipes- Butterflied Chicken stuffed with Fresh Herbs

Butterflied Chicken stuffed with Fresh Herbs
Ingredients Needed
1 Organic Free Range Chicken
2 Tbsp Olive oil
1 Tsp Salt flakes (We Love Murray River Pink Salt Flakes)
Freshly ground Pepper
1 Cup Fresh Herbs- any combination of parsley. sage, oregano, marjoram, rosemary, thyme, garlic, ginger, red chilli (finely chopped )
Juice of 1 Lemon and 1 tsp grated lemon zest

Method:
1- Butterfly Chook & rest on plate
2- in bowl mix olive oil, salt, pepper, cut fresh herbs, lemon juice and zest
3- Stuff fresh herb mix under skin of chicken
4- rub a little oilve oil on outside of chicken and then it is ready to cook
5- cook on med bbq for 10-15 minutes each side , preferably with lid down
Chicken is cooked when juice of chicken runs clear.
Serve with a fresh green salad
Enjoy

What We Have To Offer

At Sprout we stock an extensive range of both organic and gourmet products. Our range includes certified organic fruit & vegetables, organic dairy including Barambah yoghurts, fabulous organic meat from Cherry Tree Organics and fresh chooks from Inglewood. We have wines, breads, dried nuts/seeds/grains/fruit/cereals/pasta, Gluten free and Dairy free foods including dairy free icecreams and much much more....
Come and enjoy our sensational Coffee, which is organic & Fairtrade or stop in for a fresh salad wrap. We also offer a Naturopathic service in store, with private consultations available.
Sprout is Open 8.30am-6pm Monday to Friday and 8.30-4pm Saturdays
Look forward to seeing you soon at our unique little boutique grocery store

Where Can you Find us

Sprout Health Store & Organic Grocer
123 Auburn Rd
Hawthorn
03 98822862