East Austin Getting Whole Foods Market 365 Store

EAST AUSTIN, TX — Whole Foods Market officials have announced they will be bringing a store to the mixed-use development dubbed Plaza Saltillo in East Austin, the grocer announced on its website.

The store is one of the grocery chain's Whole Foods Market 365, a smaller-concept project offering culinary staples and special-diet options. The 30,000-square-foot store to be located at the intersection of Interstate 35 and East 5th Street will be the second such site in the Austin area after the Cedar Park location that opened in April 2017.

The anchor store is scheduled to open in late 2019.

“We can’t wait to open this new Whole Foods Market 365 store on the East Side,” Whole Foods Market 365 President Jeff Turnas said in a prepared statement. “At 365, customers will find familiar Whole Foods Market quality in an affordable, convenient and easy-to-shop new format, with plenty of fun surprises mixed in too.”

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Officials describe the Whole Foods Market 365 store concept as one offering "...a unique, convenient and value-focused shopping experience while maintaining all of Whole Foods Market’s industry-leading quality standards." The store will have a streamlined design, and offer convenient technological innovations and a carefully curated product selection that includes everything from pantry staples to special-diet options, officials added.

All Whole Foods Market 365 locations also feature the “Friends of 365” program, which provides a collection of unique in-store culinary experiences and venues from innovative outside partners, officials said. The friends concept alludes to dining areas operated by independent restaurateurs. While those tenants haven't been announced, clues can be discerned at the Cedar Park store that houses a JuiceLand franchise and an Easy Tiger bakery.

The announcement was heralded by residents around the Plaza Saltillo development who lament the dearth of full-fledged grocery options in an area some go as far as to label a "food desert." No site in near proximity to the sector offers ingredients from which to cook a meal from scratch — fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy products and other staples.

Come next year, residents will have such an option at the 10-acre development. While smaller than the typical Whole Foods store, the Whole Foods 365 version features myriad culinary offerings — dry and frozen goods, produce, pre-packaged meats. The stores also usually feature a salad bar and an assortment of grab-and-go foods.

According to information found on the company's website, there are seven 365 currently in operation, with another dozen in the development stages. The Plaza Saltillo location is being developed by Austin-based Endeavor Real Estate Group and Dallas-based Columbus Realty Partners, and designed by architect Michael Hsu who's worked on such notable local projects as the South Congress Hotel and Uchi.

>>> Rendering of Whole Foods Market 365 at Plaza Saltillo from Columbus Realty Partners courtesy architect Michael Hsu