Closing time. (snapshots).(Bell Health Foods specialty store closes)(Brief Article)

By the time you read this, Bell Health Foods will have closed its doors for good.

Located on the outskirts of Bismarck, North Dakota, the store is only a half-mile from the nearest Wal-Mart. "We can't compete," says store manager Belinda Neibel. "The major chains recognize the market for health food. Grocery stores now carry the same brands we have, and the new Target Super Centers have organic juice bars. We sell Kashi's GoLean at the suggested retail price. Wal-Mart has it at half-price. How can you compete with that?"

It's a problem facing many smaller health food stores. As natural living becomes more mainstream, larger chains are capturing more of the market. "I had some customers today who'd been to GNC and Wal-Mart, but they couldn't get any help," says Neibel. "They tried those stores first, however, because they knew about them. National advertising is fueling the trend. You turn on the TV now and there's all this stuff about health. It's everywhere."

Neibel says it's fantastic to see the growing popularity of natural products, but it's difficult for long-time health-food retailers. "We were the weird ones. We were considered odd for the longest time," she says. "We should be glad that more people are seeing the light. But those pioneers--the people who started the business when the going was really tough--it's hard for them to step aside."

Like many local health food stores, Bell is heavily involved in community service. Owned and operated by the Mental Health Association in North Dakota, Bell provides job training for people recovering from ...