Whole Foods temporarily closes new flagship San Francisco store due to crime

Whole Foods has temporarily closed its San Francisco flagship store at Trinity Place a little over a year after it opened, while the company works to ensure the safety of its employees at the location, according to a story in the San Francisco Standard newspaper. 

The news organization reported that the store closed at the end of the day on Monday, and it quoted a Whole Foods spokesperson who said: “We are closing our Trinity location only for the time being. If we feel we can ensure the safety of our team members in the store, we will evaluate a reopening of our Trinity location.” 

On Google, the location is listed as "temporarily closed."

Company officials did not immediately respond to a WGB request for more information on the closure, but San Francisco District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey, who represents the area where the store is located, said in a Twitter post that he is “incredibly disappointed but sadly unsurprised.”  

“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,” Dorsey said in a tweet, calling on the city to strengthen its police department to help reduce crime. 

The Standard news report noted that a source at San Francisco City Hall said " deteriorating street conditions around drug use and crime” at the 64,737-square-foot store at 1185 Market Street led to the temporary closure. A Whole Foods press release in February 2022 announced that the store would feature more than 3,700 local products, sourced largely from Northern California. 

The San Francisco Standard article said the downtown area, where the store is located, has experienced a sharp decline in foot traffic since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic and has yet to recover, “while examples of extreme poverty, drug use and mental illness on the street have become more apparent.”  

The temporary closure comes at a time when retailers across country are dealing with increased shoplifting. Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said in December the trend is so prevalent that it could lead to higher prices or the closure of some of its stores. Target CEO Brian Cornell made similar statements in late 2022, noting a “significant increase in organized retail crime across our business.”  

According to National Retail Federation’s (NRF) 2022 National Retail Security Survey, the average shrink rate, which represents the amount of inventory loss as a percentage of total sales, increased 4% in 2021, jumping to $94.5 billion versus $90.8 billion the year before.