The Safer Way

John, Rene, Craig and Mark did.

John and Rene lived in Austin and loved health food. So much so that they opened their own store which they called The Saferway … a play on the name of the big grocery chain Safeway.

When they got booted out of their apartment for storing product there, John and Rene simply moved inside the store. Two years later, they merged the Saferway with another health food store run by Craig and Mark … and together they created one whole store between the 4 of them.

At 10,000 square feet their one and only store was quite large compared to others but it worked. Open less than a year, disaster struck. A flood devastated Austin, and the store’s entire inventory and most of its equipment worth over $400,000 was wiped out. With no insurance, it looked like the Whole show was over.

Which is when something amazing and unexpected happened … Customers and neighbours showed up to clean up and repair the damage … investors, creditors and vendors relaxed their terms… and just 28 days later the store reopened.

Today, the company originally called the Saferway, that survived a disasterous flood with help of neighbours and friends, has grown to over 340 big stores across North America and sales of $12 billion a year. Whole Foods Market.

Whole Foods Markets is a great idea a flood of goodwill and support can help you overcome most any hurdle.