**Exhibit 31.1**

**Certification of CEO Pursuant to**

**18 U.S.C. Section 1350,**

**As Adopted Pursuant to**

**Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002**

 

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| 1.I have reviewed this report on    Form 10-Q for the period ended March 27, 2004, of Wild Oats Markets, Inc. (the    "Registrant") (the "Report");
2.Based on my knowledge, this Report    does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact    necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such    statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this Report;
3.Based on my knowledge, the    financial statements, and other financial information included in this Report, fairly    present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash    flows of the Registrant as of, and for the period presented in this Report;
4.The Registrant’s other    certifying officers and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure    controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the    Registrant and have:
a)Designed such disclosure controls    and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our    supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the Registrant, including its    consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities,    particularly during the period in which this Report is being prepared;
b)Evaluated the effectiveness of the    Registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this Report our    conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the    end of the period covered by this Report based on such evaluation; and
c)Disclosed in this Report any    change in the Registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred    during the Registrant’s first fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is    likely to materially affect, the Registrant’s internal control over financial    reporting. 
5.The Registrant’s other    certifying officers and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal    control over financial reporting, to the Registrant’s auditors and the audit    committee of Registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent    functions):
a)all significant deficiencies and    material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal controls over financial    reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the Registrant’s ability to    record, process, summarize and report financial information; and
b)any fraud, whether or not    material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the    Registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.Date: May 6, 2004/s/ Perry D. OdakPerry D. Odak, Chief Executive    Officer |