Shopping

For months, one of the biggest unanswered questions surrounding Dunham Pointe’s growing commercial district has been hiding in plain sight: Which natural grocer was coming to Cypress?

Now the speculation is over. Whole Foods Market will anchor the 25-acre Dunham Pointe retail and restaurant development, giving Cypress its first Whole Foods location and bringing one of the country’s best-known natural and organic grocery brands directly to the Highway 290 corridor. Construction on the 202,000-square-foot district is scheduled to begin Oct. 1, following the closing of project financing by Trademark Property Company and partner MetLife Investment Management.

From a Mystery Grocer to Whole Foods Market

The announcement fills in a major blank for residents who have been following Dunham Pointe’s commercial growth throughout 2026. In March, construction filings provided an early look at a dozen commercial buildings planned along Mason Road. By April, Trademark had confirmed that a national organic grocer would anchor the project, alongside names including Shake Shack, Amorino Gelato, Milkshake Factory and Pokeworks, but stopped short of identifying the grocery brand.

Since then, the tenant mix has continued to become more defined. Nordstrom Rack announced plans for a 25,000-square-foot store expected in fall 2027, while Flower Child is planning a healthy dining concept within the development. Trademark now says 14 tenants are signed, including Whole Foods Market, Nordstrom Rack, Shake Shack, Playa Bowls, Pepper Lunch, Ojo de Agua, Solidcore, Fidelity, LaserAway, Texas Country Boots and others. More than a dozen additional tenants totaling roughly 65,000 square feet remain in active lease negotiations.

Why Whole Foods Is a Significant Addition for Cypress

Whole Foods is hardly a newcomer to Texas. The company was born in Austin in 1980, when John Mackey, Renee Lawson Hardy, Craig Weller and Mark Skiles combined two small natural-food businesses into the first Whole Foods Market. The original store had just 19 employees. The company began expanding into Houston and Dallas in 1984 and has since grown to more than 550 locations across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

The brand built its identity around natural and organic foods, prepared meals and ingredient standards that go beyond conventional grocery requirements. Whole Foods says its food standards prohibit hundreds of ingredients, including hydrogenated fats, high-fructose corn syrup and numerous artificial preservatives, flavors, colors and sweeteners. Its Houston-area footprint already stretches from central Houston neighborhoods including Montrose, Midtown and Post Oak to suburban locations in Katy, Sugar Land and The Woodlands, but Cypress has remained a notable gap in that map.

The Cypress store will also arrive while Whole Foods is continuing to evolve beyond its traditional supermarket model. In 2026, the company expanded its Local and Emerging Accelerator Program, which helps smaller food brands prepare for retail distribution, and launched a more than $1 million Next Generation Farmer Fund with the National Young Farmers Coalition to support younger farmers using sustainable practices. Whole Foods is also expanding its smaller-format Daily Shop concept in major cities and recently announced a $230 million investment in higher pay and expanded benefits for its U.S. workforce.

Dunham Pointe Is Moving From Neighborhood to Destination

For Dunham Pointe residents, the Whole Foods announcement is also another marker of how quickly the 1,300-acre master-planned community is maturing. Home sales began in 2021, and Trademark says the community has since recorded more than 1,000 new-home sales. What began primarily as a residential story is increasingly becoming a mixed-use one, with retail, restaurants and services following the families already moving into the area.

“The response from homebuyers has validated the vision we had for Dunham Pointe from the beginning,” said Cary Dunham, executive vice president of Dunham Pointe Development. “We wanted to create a community where families could not only find an exceptional home, but also have amenities, restaurants, shopping, and services close at hand. The pace of home sales has created the critical mass to support that next phase of development, and Trademark recognized the opportunity. Their investment is an important milestone in making Dunham Pointe the complete community we envisioned.”

That next phase now extends well beyond shopping. Dunham Pointe Development says it is under contract or in negotiations involving multifamily housing, townhomes, medical facilities and additional commercial uses. For Cypress families watching the area grow, that broader mix could ultimately be as consequential as any individual store opening, gradually turning the Highway 290 and Mason Road area into a place where more daily errands, meals, appointments and shopping can happen closer to home.

What Happens Next at Dunham Pointe

Groundbreaking is scheduled for Oct. 1, moving a development that Cypress residents have watched through permits, tenant announcements and months of speculation into its construction phase. Whole Foods Market has not yet announced an opening date, store size, hiring timeline or specific features planned for the Cypress location, so those details remain among the next big pieces to watch.

For now, however, one of Dunham Pointe’s best-kept retail secrets is finally out. The “national organic grocer” is Whole Foods Market, and its arrival adds another major piece to a commercial district that is quickly becoming one of the most closely watched developments in Cypress.

Stay tuned to My Neighborhood News for updates on Whole Foods Market in Cypress, Dunham Pointe construction, new restaurant and retail announcements, and what’s coming next along the Highway 290 corridor.

By Tiffany Krenek, My Neighborhood News 

Tiffany Krenek has been on the My Neighborhood News team since August 2021. She is passionate about curating and sharing content that enriches the lives of our readers in a personal, meaningful way. A loving mother and wife, Tiffany and her family live in the West Houston/Cypress region.

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