Austin Anticipates New Business Openings

Austin’s population is growing, and with it, the number of recognizable and popular businesses grows in synch, creating jobs and excitement around new store openings. Austin and Travis County were among the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the country last year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, adding 34,381 residents between July 2011 and July 2012. The fast growing population is aided by Austin’s affordable housing market. In a ranking by ZipRealty Inc., a high-tech residential brokerage company, Austin took seventh in a ranking of the ten most affordable metropolitans in the U.S.

Among the new businesses soon to open in Austin are Pinkberry, two Trader Joe’s grocery stores, and several new Whole Foods locations alongside a potential Whole Foods health resort. Pinkberry is a popular frozen yogurt chain and will open in Austin this spring, with the first shop planned close to homes in Westlake at the Westbank Market shopping center. Over the next six years, the company plans to open 13 Pinkberry stores in Central Texas.

Trader Joe’s was originally planned to open its first Austin store downtown at the soon-to-be-revamped Seaholm Power Plant alongside luxury condos and boutique retailers. Now, that opening will be eclipsed by a Trader Joe’s opening first in the Rollingwood neighborhood at the Shops at Mira Vista near Bee Cave Road and MoPac Expressway. The store will occupy a 15,113-square-foot space, which was previously occupied by Sprouts Market, according to the Austin Business Journal. The excitement around the store’s opening revolves around the company’s penchant for offering an incredible variety of specialty foods, vitamins, flowers, wine, and beer at affordable prices.

Whole Foods is another grocery chain working on opening several new stores in the city. In addition to the excitement of new stores, the Austin-based business is exploring the idea of opening a health resort to compliment its flagship store in downtown Austin. The company is currently searching for hotel space to acquire, and anticipates opening the first Whole Foods health spa in three years. The facility would focus on teaching people about healthy lifestyles and building wholesome habits that complement the store’s philosophy for integrating healthy choices into every decision.