At the 80,000-square foot Whole Foods supermarket in Austin, Texas, which is the chain's flagship, shoppers can check out one of 11 iPods on hand and listen to a 20-minute audio tour of the store. According to the Austin American-Statesman (registration required), Whole Foods spokesman Scott Simons said that the idea came out of the volume of requests for tours, which are often booked months in advance by large groups.

The store attracts many tourists as well as food critics from across the country, and planned Whole Foods supermarkets in Dallas and Houston may have the feature too. Shoppers must hand over their car keys and driver's license in exchange for an iPod, which also includes music by Texas-based musicians.