Whole Foods Announces Bad News Due To Skyrocketing Crime

OPINION | This article contains the author's opinion.

Whole Foods’ flagship store in downtown San Francisco is closing due to drug use and crime near the location, according to a report.

Although the company said the store is closing “only for the time being,” it’s unclear if the store will ever re-open.

A Whole Foods spokesperson said, “If we feel we can ensure the safety of our team members in the store, we will evaluate a reopening of our Trinity location.”

Skyrocketing crime near the store has impacted workers’ safety, according to reports.

The overly restrictive COVID-19 regulations and lockdowns had a severe impact on businesses in the area, forcing many small companies to shut down.

This likely worsened poverty and drug use in the area.

Board of Supervisors member Matt Dorsey, who is a Democrat, said, “Our neighborhood waited a long time for this supermarket, but we’re also well aware of problems they’ve experienced with drug-related retail theft, adjacent drug markets, and the many safety issues related to them.”

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The Whole Foods grocery store on Market Street cut its operating hours in October over high theft and hostile visitors, one of the store’s managers told the outlet. In November, the store changed its bathroom rules after syringes and pipes were found.

The company called the 64,737 square-foot location its “flagship store” in a press release last year when announcing its March 2022 opening.

Just hours before the store’s closure on Monday, the market’s aisles were still stocked with food and other products, and workers continued to fill shelves.

Board of Supervisors member Matt Dorsey said in a tweet Monday that he was “incredibly disappointed but sadly unsurprised by the temporary closure of Mid-Market’s Whole Foods.” Dorsey’s district includes the Whole Foods store.