A business owner of one of Bristol’s longest-running health food shops has decided to retire this year. Mike Abrahams, 79, co-founded Wild Oats in Redland more than four decades ago, a business that pioneered many services that are now widespread in wholefood stores today.
Leeds-born Mike was working at the European Space Agency in Holland with his partner (later wife), Loes, when he decided to set up his own wholefood shop in Bristol. It was the early 1980s when interest in vegetarianism and clean eating was almost non-existent.
“Being into natural foods at the time was virtually unheard of, it was very ‘cranky’,” Mike said. He remembered a shop in London called Cranks that became very famous for its vegetarian food.
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Mike first came to Bristol as an undergraduate apprentice with the University of Bristol and Bristol Aeroplane Company in 1962. He trained for five years going on to work for North Sea Gas and other roles until he was headhunted to be an environmental test engineer at the European Space Agency in the 1970s, based in Noordwijk. Despite the huge calibre of the role, Mike remembered questioning the ethics of the organisation’s work at the time when he was asked by his friend’s son why he worked there.
“I was absolutely disgusted by the politics of the organisation at the time, “ he said. “So I decided to leave. By that time, I’d become interested in natural foods and particularly macrobiotics.”
During this time with the ESA, he had continued to visit his friends in Bristol and noticed a shop called Larder, on Lower Redland Road, was up for sale. Mike remembers it used to have sacks of grains scattered around the shop floor, which inspired the ethos at Wild Oats, opening the store in January 1981.
“I realised not enough people knew what to do with beans, grains and cereals. I converted half of the shop into a restaurant where we could demonstrate these kinds of foods.”
Being ahead of the curve - and its challenges
Despite the shop’s legacy in Bristol, it’s not always been easy. Mike said there was initially a massive pushback against the ethos of the wholefoods shop. He led cooking classes from the store as well as informative sessions on diets.
“In those days, healthy, vegetarian food was eating salads, nut roast and quiche. We were introducing Indonesian, Thai, Mexican, all kinds of foods that were very healthy.”
Wild Oats moved the cooking side of the business to a small cafe near the cinema (now run by Everyman) on Whiteladies Road in 1983. Mike admitted that the second venture went “terribly” at the time, as it was ahead of its time, and he found there weren’t enough vegetarians open to trying different cuisines.
“The vegetarians of the time would only eat what they were familiar with. At the time, we had Thai and Indonesian chefs cooking it properly. Word did get out and there were people from London coming down, but there weren’t enough of them, that was the problem.
“One time Kate Bush sent for a birthday cake that we were famous for because we didn’t use sugar or chemicals. We produced these magnificent iced cakes that were sweet but not made with sugar.”
At one time, they also ran a small apothecary in Cotham Hill, which closed around 2000. Despite the rise of natural foods, vegetarianism and subsequently veganism, the shop struggled over the years. “It’s always been an uphill fight,” he admitted.
After the collapse of the cafe, Mike and Loes separated but continued to run the shop together. In 1988, the stress caused Mike to be hospitalised with ulcerative colitis, which required emergency surgery and nearly killed him.
Loes singlehandedly ran the shop while he was in recovery. She tragically passed away two years ago after suffering from posterior cortical atrophy which developed into Alzheimer’s.
The 'Whole Foods effect'
Now, wholefoods and health shops have exploded in Bristol and around the UK and Wild Oats has maintained the retail side of the business through a loyal customer base. Natural, sustainable, ethical, organic and wholefood were part of the shop’s ethos long before they were buzzwords.
Over the years, Mike has seen shops come and go, like the now Amazon-owned Whole Foods, although many didn’t last. There are now dozens of organic, health food shops in affluent areas of Bristol, known as the 'Whole Foods effect', denoting the synergy between culture and culinary gentrification.
“We pioneered self-service bins back in 1980 and suddenly it's all the rage. At the time it was allowing people to buy quantities they needed. We have a discount if you buy over a certain weight.” Now, of course, there is the zero waste aspect to it to reduce packaging. For Mike, it was about democratising retail.
Today, Wild Oats houses one of Bristol’s most extensive ranges of quirky wholefoods, supplements and natural remedies. Its manager and front-of-house team collectively have decades of experience in the industry.
In spite of the highs and lows, what’s been the key to Wild Oats’ success over more than four decades? Pausing to reflect, Mike said it was a combination of factors.
“It’s product knowledge, service and being ahead of the curve. We know what customers are looking for and we provide it. It’s listening to them and not knowing better than the customers.”
Future of Wild Oats 40 years on
Mike will be turning 80 in October and is now looking to hand over the business and is still finetuning the next steps. He is looking forward to spending his newfound free time travelling around in his motorhome overseas.
“We’ve created a community of former staff who are still in contact after 40 years. I’ve also got a community of customers whose lives have changed for the better when their doctors said they wouldn’t,” Mike explained. “I think I’ve made a difference. I can walk away knowing I’ve helped people.”
Wild Oats is hosting a street party on Bank Holiday Monday (May 29) on a section of Lower Redland Road with a barbecue, beers from Lost and Grounded, and smoothie bowls from the store. The road will be closed to traffic and parking from Whiteladies Road to the start of Redland Terrace to make way for entertainment and activities, from 11am to 5pm.
Wild Oats, 9-11 Lower Redland Road, BS6 6TB. Monday - Saturday: 8am - 5pm, Sunday: 10am - 5pm, Tel: 0117 973 1967. Delivery available for local delivery within most BS postcodes. https://woats.co.uk/
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