A Whole Foods Co-Founder Is Opening His Own Restaurant Chain

If you're looking for fresh, organic, healthy food, Whole Foods is a great go-to. The chain grocery store built its platform on providing high-quality food to consumers, and Whole Foods Market's website explains that its mission is to set a higher standard for all grocery stores.

Whole Foods was co-founded by John Mackey, Renee Lawson Hardy, Craig Weller, and Mark Skiles in 1980. Just a few years later, they began expanding Whole Foods to multiple locations, and today there are over 500 Whole Foods locations across Canada, The United States, and The United Kingdom. After being acquired by Amazon in 2017 (via Slate), they continued to expand their convenience — Amazon customers can even order Whole Foods products for delivery or pickup through the Amazon website.

One of the co-founders of Whole Foods is now planning to leave behind his executive position in order to pursue a new business venture. This time it will focus on more than just food. 

John Mackey plans to retire from Whole Foods in September, but that doesn't mean his career days will be over any time soon. In fact, he plans to launch his own restaurant chain, according to Bloomberg. Mackey has joined Healthy America LLC as a partner, and the company plans to launch a chain of vegetarian restaurants and medical wellness centers.

Mackey is joined by several other former Whole Foods employees, reports Restaurant Dive, and they will focus on health-based, plant-based endeavors. The restaurants will offer "eclectic" vegetarian options, ranging from clean eating to more indulgent flavors, according to Bloomberg, while the wellness centers will focus more on fitness and spa services, designed to uplift the body and the mind.

Bloomberg reports that Healthy America LLC raised $31 million from investors earlier this year, and they plan to use funds to launch their locations. The first venture, Love Life!, states on its website that their southern California location is projected to open in 2023.