A Whole Foods supermarket in San Francisco that opened just over a year ago is already closing due to crime and public drug use in the area.
People who work in the store do not feel that it is a safe working environment.
When will people in this city say enough is enough?
The San Francisco Standard reports:
A downtown San Francisco Whole Foods is closing a year after opening
One of downtown San Francisco’s largest supermarkets—the Whole Foods Market store at Eighth and Market streets—plans to close at the end of business Monday, a year after it opened, company officials told The Standard.
“We are closing our Trinity location only for the time being,” a Whole Foods spokesperson said in a statement. “If we feel we can ensure the safety of our team members in store, we will evaluate reopening our Trinity location.”
A City Hall source told The Standard that the company cited worsening road conditions surrounding drug use and crime near the grocery store as reasons for the closure.
Since the pandemic began, downtown has suffered a huge loss in foot traffic due to remote work and many small businesses have closed. Fears of a “doom loop” spread a compound cascade of negative economic effects across the city. City Hall officials currently anticipate a shortfall of about $800 million in San Francisco’s budget.
One idea floated recently to deal with the crisis is to convert vacant downtown office space into thousands of student housing units.
The grocery store on Market Street cut its operating hours in October last year due to “high levels of theft” and hostile visitors, according to a store manager. And in November, the store implemented new bathroom rules after syringes and pipes were found in restrooms.
What happens when there are no more places to shop?
Another bitten the ground! Could parts of San Francisco be food deserts? 🏜️ https://t.co/KdxGkWaFDF
— Stanley Roberts (@StanleyRoberts) April 10, 2023
A grocery store chain closing a store in a major US city citing safety concerns is totally wild, though not surprising. Total failure of local governance here https://t.co/5cliv9Mvgk
— Adam Singer (@AdamSinger) April 10, 2023
They closed a Whole Foods in downtown San Francisco because it was too unsafe.
Whole foods.
That’s what a blue state looks like.
— Lavern Spicer 🇺🇸 (@lavern_spicer) April 11, 2023
Blue State Utopia. Isn’t it great?
