Could Whole Foods be a possibility for Wichita in the next few years?

WICHITA — It may not happen next year — or even the next few years — but there's hope Wichita could one day have a Whole Foods Market.

The grocery chain ranked No. 6 in a 2010 Wichita Eagle survey of what Wichitans want.

A Reuters story this week quotes Walter Robb, co-CEO of the Austin-based chain, as saying he expects there to one day be 1,000 Whole Foods stores nationally.

Currently, there are about 300.

The story says, "The upheaval in the commercial property market has created opportunities for companies looking to expand, and Whole Foods has identified locations where it 'can put some bets down and take advantage of that.' "

Robb added that the company has "some contingency plans so that if we needed to, we could slow down."

We'll let you know if it looks like the company might take a bet on Wichita.