Grocery Beat

Whole Foods Market slashing prices on 'hundreds' of items this week

Whole Foods Market flagship store in Austin

Whole Foods is cutting prices on hundreds of items.

Photo courtesy of Whole Foods Market

Austin-based Whole Foods Market is preparing for another round of price cuts. Beginning April 3, all shoppers can expect lower prices on produce and expanded deals on popular products for Prime members.

Amazon, the grocer's parent company, announced the news on April 1, curiously timed considering it was April Fool's Day and Whole Foods prices are sometimes considered laughable.

According to the release, Whole Foods customers can expect an average 20-percent price reduction on hundreds of items, including "high quality, peak-of-season produce." For April, that means fruits and vegetables like rainbow chard, mangoes, and cherry tomatoes.

"The standards for how our products are sourced, grown and produced are powerful and set Whole Foods Market apart from the competition," said Whole Foods CEO John Mackey in a release. "We will continue to focus on both lowering prices and bringing customers the quality they trust and the innovative assortment they expect from our brand.”

Considering this is Amazon, Prime members will receive the most number of deals possible, including double the weekly specials Whole Foods is currently offering. Beginning on Wednesday, Prime shoppers will see price cuts on the store's most popular items. In April, for example, this means weekly deals on everything from whole, antibiotic-free chickens ($1.79 per pound) to 35 percent off Justin's brand products.

The latest news marks the third round of price reductions since the Seattle-based tech company purchased Austin's homegrown grocer in August 2017.

“When Whole Foods Market joined the Amazon family, we set out to make healthy and organic food more accessible. Over the last year, we’ve been working together tirelessly to pass on savings to customers,” said Jeff Wilke, CEO of Amazon Worldwide Consumer.

Despite this effort, a bombshellWall Street Journal report in February found that Whole Foods prices were actually climbing, something the retailer blamed on increasing inflation. According to the WSJ, the price hike averaged out to a costly $.66 per item, something it seems the company is trying to counteract with this latest news.

Current Prime members and shoppers can find a current list of deals here, plus information on how to use Prime to cash in on the new price cuts.

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Basil And...

Pflugerville chef brings Vietnamese eats to Hutto with new concept

Broth & Basil/Instagram

Basil & Bites, a new concept by the owner of Broth & Basil, is opening in Hutto in spring 2025.

A Pflugerville chef is circling Austin and opening a second, new concept in Hutto. Basil & Bites, which fuses Vietnamese cuisine with Texas influences, will open in fall 2025 at the junction of TX 79 and CR 119, according to a press release.

The new restaurant by the chef behind Broth & Basil is part of the Townwest Commons development, owned by NewQuest Properties. The same company also promised this summer to bring a new Chuy's to the same development by early 2025. It says in the Basil & Bites release that Chuy's is on track to open in January.

Basil & Bites has claimed half a building, totaling 5,500 square feet of space. It's across from the EVO Entertainment — a movie theater, bowling alley, arcade, bar and restaurant, and more — that the developer has been using as an anchor in promoting the new business park. It also maintains its "original anchors" Lowe's and the YMCA.

Phen T. Diep owns Broth & Basil, and was already familiar with in NewQuest because the restaurant is located in another one of its properties, Stone Hill Town Center in Pflugerville.

The release offered few details about the restaurant itself, including what would be on the menu. At Broth & Basil, as the name suggests, pho is a main offering. And like Basil & Bites, the existing restaurant also takes pride in its Texas heritage, offering Texas Wagyu Beef from Ranger Cattle, which is based in Austin.

Other menu offerings include a variety of meats served over vermicelli or rice, and a few specials like Wagyu bo luc lac (shaking beef) cooked on the hot plate it's served on.

According to the Broth and Basil website, Diep started out as a home chef. He's committed to traditional Vietnamese dishes, even though he's added some Texan elements, and the bone broth simmers for 10 hours so no additives are needed.

"We recruited him because of the yearslong success of his first restaurant, which was the first one in Austin to feature Pho Wagyu," said NewQuest leasing director and senior vice president Josh Friedlander in the release. "It's now one of the most popular dishes on the menu."

openings asian cuisine hutto pflugerville