If you’re looking to find a retail beer job, Whole Foods is great place to work.   How many years in a row have they been on the Fortune Top 100 Best Companies to Work For list?  A lot.

And Whole Foods does a great job stocking a wide variety of beer.  Every time I walk through the Specialty section, I always kind of wonder what it would be like to be the beer buyer for a huge grocery store like Whole Foods.

They can only order beers that have previously been approved by corporate, but that’s still a pretty big list.  So it’s not the same freedom as a family owned local grocer, but still a whole lot more leeway than any other major grocery store.

If you keep an eye on the Beer Job Boards, you’ll see that Whole Foods jobs come up pretty often.  Often times, they will just say something like Specialty Team Member.  Their specialty department encompasses beer, wine, and cheese, so its more than just beer.  BUT, if you see Beer Specialist in the job title, that would be the point person in the beer department.

It looks like Los Angeles is a hot spot in need of more Beer Specialists right now, since there are 3 listings up on the Beer Job Board.  There is one at their Westwood location, another in Tustin, and then a more generic listing that just says they need a Beer Specialist in Los Angeles.  Possibly a double listing?

Who knows if this represents some sort of trend in a city that has long been a wasteland for beer.  Maybe Los Angeles is starting to catch up to the rest of the country?  Or maybe Whole Foods’ recent merger with Wild Oats has created more beer job openings?  Who knows.