Feb 05, 2006; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Whole Foods Market was founded in Austin, Texas, when three local businessmen decided the natural foods industry was ready for a supermarket format. The 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. Since then, they have grown by leaps and bounds opening stores in most urban cities (Credit Image: © Marianna Day Massey/ZUMAPRESS.com)
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