Whole Foods Opens in South Austin

A new Whole Foods opened in South Austin this morning, the second location of the Austin-based chain to open within the region in as many months.

The original Whole Foods market opened in Austin in 1980 with a staff of only 19 employees.  Today its Austin locations number four, out of 310 locations internationally.

The store will reflect the “laid back, at home feel of the South Austin community” store team leader Steph Steele said in a statement. The store aims to provide “an intimate community grocery store experience,” Steele added – a seeming contrast to Whole Foods' bustling flagship location downtown (now complete with  self-driven shopping carts).

The grocery is the latest in an embarrassment of riches for South Austinites: just opposite the South Austin Costco, the store is also near a large Randalls, Westgate Boulevard's Central Market, and the Sunflower market on Manchaca Road, the Sunset Valley H-E-B. Just north of Ben White Boulevard you can find a Sun Harvest and, coming in early 2013, a brand new Wheatsville Co-op.

The Whole Foods Arbor Trail is located on W. William Cannon Drive.