Whole Foods Market to open in Highland Village

Southern Denton County residents can finally check a coveted upscale grocer off their wish list.

Whole Foods Market officials announced Wednesday that they will open a store in The Shops at Highland Village in 2014.

The Austin-based organic food chain has plans to construct a 38,000 square foot store at the corner of FM 407 and FM 2499, which sits just inside Highland Village across the street from Flower Mound.

“We’ve been working with them on it for some time,” said Highland Village Mayor Pat Davis. “We had our hopes up over a year ago and it didn’t come to fruition. Things finally fell into place a couple of months ago.”

Davis said that the city expects to see formal site plans from the grocer by the end of August or September.

Two existing tenants at the mall will be relocated to make room for the store, according to a person familiar with the project.

Davis said that the new store will make shopping in Highland Village more of a regional attraction.

“I was in the food business for 30 years so I am very familiar with what a grocery store like this can do for the area and this store can draw from 40 to 50 miles away,” said Davis.

News of the store has already brought interest from an unnamed complementary upscale business that is looking to locate in the Marketplace at Highland Village shopping center next door.

“It’s a big benefit for our city,” said Davis.  “It’s got a great draw and I believe it will help us possibly get even more stores that will add to the mix.”

Whole Foods Market consistently shows up as one of the top two most wanted retailers on surveys sent to neighboring Flower Mound residents by the town’s economic development department.

Davis added, “My wife and I are personally excited about it because we are empty-nesters and we like to get prepared foods and don’t like to cook a lot since it is just the two of us.”