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Since You Asked: No Whole Foods Market on the Medford horizon Friday Mar 3, 2017 at 12:01 AM Why does Bend (area population 175,000) have Whole Foods Market, but we here in Medford (market size 215,000) don't? What about Whole Foods 365? — Rose V., Medford You might think a retail chain with 10 stores in Oregon might, just might, place one of them in Medford. Hey, we were the first town in Oregon to get an In-N-Out burger joint, so we must have something going here in the Rogue Valley. Typically, however, the retail orthodoxy goes like this: Build stores up the freeways from Southern California to Redding, then hop on a plane and build stores in Portland. From the Pearl District to the Hollywood and Laurelhurst neighborhoods, Whole Foods Market has Portland covered. Plus, there is a Whole Foods 365 in Lake Oswego. All told, there are seven metro-area locations. Several years ago, Whole Foods decided Deschutes County was a logical place to build a Whole Foods store. We're not exactly sure why the corporate real estate team fell in love with Bend. But we know Bend is cooler, trendier and home to more folks from Portlandia on weekends and holidays than this part of the state. "As of now, we haven’t announced plans for a store in the Medford area," Whole Foods spokesperson Beth Krauss told us. "However, we continually review opportunities to expand into new markets. As you might imagine, there are many factors that drive our expansion strategy, and the dynamic nature of real estate in the Pacific Northwest region certainly gives us a lot to consider." Krauss added Whole Foods "truly appreciates the interest in having a Whole Foods market or 365 store in your community." Translated: "Don't call us, we'll call you." Just remember: the Cubs won the World Series last year, so anything is possible. — Send questions to “Since You Asked,” Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; by fax to 541-776-4376; or by email to [email protected]. We’re sorry, but the volume of questions received prevents us from answering all of them.