Whole Foods Market was founded in Austin, Texas, when four local businesspeople decided the natural foods industry was ready for a supermarket format. Our founders were John Mackey and Renee Lawson Hardy, owners of Safer Way Natural Foods, and Craig Weller and Mark Skiles, owners of Clarksville Natural Grocery. The original Whole Foods Market opened in 1980 with a staff of only 19 people. It was an immediate success. At the time, there were less than half a dozen natural food supermarkets in the United States. Whole Foods has grown by leaps and bounds since the first store opened.
Whole Food’s history and reputation are intimately linked to their support of local farmers. For more than 25 years, they have worked to provide shoppers with the broadest possible selection of the highest quality produce available. They are permanently committed to buying from local producers whose fruits and vegetables meet their high quality standards, particularly those who farm organically and are themselves dedicated to environmentally friendly, sustainable agriculture.
Whole Foods Markets dot the Puget Sound with locations in Seattle’s Roosevelt, Westlake (downtown) and Interbay neighborhoods, and on the east side in Bellevue and Redmond.
