(Headline USA) Whole Foods announced this week that it is shutting down its flagship location in downtown San Francisco less than a year after it opened because of rampant crime and drug use.
“To ensure the safety of our team members we have made the difficult decision to close the Trinity store for the time being,” a Whole Foods spokesperson said in a statement on Monday, adding that the location may reopen if they feel they can ensure the safety of their team members.
Last October, Whole Foods announced it was cutting its operating hours, citing “high theft” and hostile people.
“We’re spending more on security than any other store, I would imagine,” the manager said at the time, according to the San Francisco Standard.
The store had to limit restroom use in November after syringes and pipes were found in the bathrooms.
Resident Allyn Mejia, who works for the Housing Rights Committee, said she shops at the Whole Foods location regularly but is not surprised by the company’s decision to close the store’s doors.
“I’ve seen security run into the store real quick before, like, something happened,” she said.
Matt Dorsey, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, said the Whole Foods closure is part of an ongoing problem the city has with safety.
“I’m incredibly disappointed but sadly unsurprised by the temporary closure of Mid-Market’s Whole Foods. Our neighborhood waited a long time for this market, 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,” he wrote on Twitter.
Dorsey pointed the blame at city officials who have cut police spending.
“San Franciscans have been denied the benefits of a fully-staffed police department for nearly 30 years,” he said. “Our current police understaffing crisis has never been worse.”
