SaferWay was established by Renee Lawson and John Mackey in 1978, Austin, Texas. The store was designed to provide local residents a decent selection of natural foods. Patrons could choose from a variety of natural food products \u2013 vegetables, fruit, fish, coffee, spices, cheese, and milk. Funding for SafeWay originated from a $45,000-loan from a host of friends and family members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mackey and Lawson were known to utilize their natural food shop as a living space, with basic essentials. In 1980, the founders agreed to merge with Clarksville Natural Grocery, a natural food store owned by Mark Skiles and Craig Weller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The merger developed the first Whole Foods Market, a 10,500-square-foot health food store, which was operated by the owners and their 19 employees.<\/p>\n\n\n
In May 1981, the Austin Whole Foods Market was flooded, resulting in about $400,000 in damage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unfortunately, the flood damage was not covered under an insurance policy, leaving the owners at the mercy of local investors, vendors, and creditors. After 28 days of cleaning and repairing, the store reopened for business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the next decade, new acquisitions continued to allow Whole Foods to expand to new areas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
By 1999, Whole Foods Market had locations in North Carolina, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Los Angeles, Florida, Detroit, Boston, Seattle Georgia, Ontario, and Manhattan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today, Whole Foods Market has 500 stores throughout North America and the United Kingdom. The supermarket chain was acquired<\/a> by Amazon for $13.7 billion in 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n