Whole Foods to employ 300 at fifth Austin store

AUSTIN – Whole Foods Market Inc. will open its 65,000-sf store at 11920 Domain Dr. in North Austin in January 2014. The estimated cost of construction is $8.2 million, according to state filings.

The new store — the fifth in the Austin area — will employ about 300 people. Overall, the company employs about 76,000 people. About 2,000 of those jobs are local.

The average size of a Whole Foods ranges from 35,000 sf to 40,000 sf, so the new Northwest Austin location is nearly double the size of other stores.

The Domain store will be just 2.8 miles from the Gateway location, which will continue operating.