Mill Valley’s efforts to find a new grocery tenant at the site of the former Whole Foods Market on Miller Avenue have been temporarily sidelined by Amazon layoffs, according to the city manager.

The city has been working behind the scenes to find a new grocery store tenant for the site. Whole Foods closed the store last summer, citing, in part, the cost of necessary upgrades. The Whole Foods lease lasts for several more years.

The Mill Valley Market was selected by Amazon’s team and their real estate agents from three possible contenders, City Manager Todd Cusimano told the City Council on Monday. Those efforts were interrupted by Amazon laying off 14,000 employees in late October.

“They eliminated two-thirds of the national corporate real estate team,” including the city’s contacts, Cusimano said. “We have to see the dust settle, which is going to take a few weeks to see who is in charge at Whole Foods with real estate.”

Cusimano said the building is sound and ready for a new grocery tenant to move in.

“We don’t control it. We don’t have the rights to it,” he said. “But we absolutely have a role in helping and facilitating.”

Nathan Cimbala, a Whole Foods spokesperson, did not return a request for comment. Steven Maxson, a Bay Area real estate agent working for Amazon, declined to comment.

Whole Foods, which is based in Texas, first opened the store at 414 Miller Ave. when it had just 11 locations nationwide. In 2010, it opened a second Mill Valley store at 731 E. Blithedale Ave. The second store remains open.

Amazon bought Whole Foods in 2017.

Amazon announced the wave of layoffs on Oct. 28. It has about 350,000 corporate employees and a total workforce of approximately 1.56 million, according to the Associated Press. The company also cut 27,000 jobs in 2023.