Big Buyout

Austin-based Whole Foods Market gets gobbled up by tech giant Amazon

Whole Foods Market flagship store in Austin

Amazon is buying Whole Foods Market for a whopping $13.7 billion.

Photo courtesy of Whole Foods Market

Austin's homegrown grocery chain Whole Foods Market is being acquired by Amazon, the tech giant announced Friday, June 16.

The Seattle-based tech company will acquire the Austin-based grocery chain in an all-cash deal valued at approximately $13.7 billion, including Whole Food's net debt. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2017, following approval from Whole Foods shareholders.

Operations are expected to remain the same. Co-founder John Mackey will stay on as CEO, the headquarters will remain in Austin, and the company will continue to operate stores under the Whole Foods Market brand.

"Millions of people love Whole Foods Market because they offer the best natural and organic foods, and they make it fun to eat healthy," says Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO, in a release. "Whole Foods Market has been satisfying, delighting, and nourishing customers for nearly four decades — they're doing an amazing job and we want that to continue."

"This partnership presents an opportunity to maximize value for Whole Foods Market's shareholders, while at the same time extending our mission and bringing the highest quality, experience, convenience, and innovation to our customers," echoes Mackey.

Whole Foods was founded in Austin in 1978. The chain boasted more than 460 stores in the U.S., Canada, and the United Kingdom in 2016. The brand also launched 365 by Whole Foods Market in 2016, a lower-price concept designed to appeal to millennial shoppers. The Cedar Park location, the only in Texas, debuted to much fanfare in April 2017.

shopping

Deli News

Gourmet market Ari's Pantry to open in Dallas' Trinity Groves

Ari's Pantry

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A new gourmet grocery is coming to Trinity Groves: Ari's Pantry, the market launched in Oak Cliff by husband-and-wife Ari and Amy Lowenstein, will open a second location in West Dallas’ Trinity Groves, with a grand opening celebration on Saturday, November 30.

Located at 3011 Gulden Ln. #119 in the space that was once home to Potato Flats who remembers them, the Trinity Groves store will offer: pasta, olive oil, vinegars, preserves, candy, bread, crackers, cheese, meats, pizza dough, fresh pasta, housewares, cocktail ingredients, novelty kitchen gadgets, spices, prepared foods, fresh pesto and Ari’s own tomato sauce.

“We are excited to open our newest location at Trinity Groves joining the great businesses already there and the wave of new ventures opening in the development,” Ari Lowenstein says in a release. “With this location we will reach a new audience in West Dallas and be closer to our customers coming from downtown and the north.”

The couple opened their first location in Winnetka Heights at 1307 ½ W. Davis St. in December 2023 to fulfill Ari's passion for all things Italy. The idea was a small Italian food store with recipe-ready staples, with a hyper-local vibe. It has since blossomed into a general-purpose gourmet stop.

In addition to the food staples for sale found at their Bishop Arts location, Ari’s Trinity Groves location will also include a commercial catering kitchen that will enable them to provide full-service catering, prepared meal pick-up, pasta classes, and private dinners.

“Amy and Ari bring something new and special to this development as our first partner to offer consumer packaged goods made by people and companies outside of Trinity Groves,” said Sam Romano, Partner at West Dallas Investments, parent company of Trinity Groves. “They are part of the vision we have for the future of Trinity Groves that will combine innovative, up and coming chefs and restauranteurs with lifestyle and entertainment options like pickleball, bocce ball, popup events, arcade game play and additional retail partners.”

The Ari's empire doesn't stop here: Their goal is to open multiple locations "in all corners of DFW and beyond," and that includes a location in the Cyprus Waters community in Coppell, slated to open in spring 2025.

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