In the sorely missed absence of a Whole Foods in the Charlotte area, Earth Fare does a fair job of filling the gap.
Here it is, all broken down.
Pro:
It has about 75% of the things you'd expect to find at Whole Foods... but
Con:
Of course, not 365 Brand (Whole Foods' store brand)
Pro:
Large selection of cheeses, crackers, beers, wines, a pretty large bulk selection, and lots of frozen foods. Also, pre packed low-priced spices can be found, such as cardamom, madras curry, amongst other harder to find spices and even pink, red, and I think I saw black salt there once.
Con:
Their cheeses are vastly overpriced. For example at WFM Durham, Cotswold cheese is $7.99/lb. At Earth Fare SP, it is $15.99. This is pretty much an across-the-board problem with their pricing. All their products are just a touch overpriced, storewide. Kind Bars from the Nutrition department run $1.99 whereas WFM charges $1.49 -- but Harris Teeter also charges $1.99.
Pro:
Hot soups, hot bar, salad bar, and lots of prepackaged cooked food choices.
Con:
Overpriced, sometimes stale prepacked food, small hot bar.
Pro:
Love the bakery. Love their bread selection.
Con:
Actually, the bakery is spot on. No con here.
Pro:
EXCELLENT customer service. They are usually fully staffed in each of their departments EXCEPT their actual customer service station on the front end of the store. That's the only place their service is lacking. Everyone who IS present is kind, friendly, and helpful, and make me feel welcome and never like I'm bothering them to do their job. That's how it should be everywhere. Oh, they are also knowledgable and know where stuff can be found if you can't find something.