Whole Foods' founder's restaurant concept is dead for now, but Love.Life plans resurrection

The health-focused restaurant concept created by Whole Foods Market founder John Mackey has closed. But a spokesman for the restaurant said the company behind it plans to try again next year in a new location.

Mackey and other investors launched the new Love.Life in Los Angeles in May.

The full-service plant-based restaurant and bar offered breakfast, lunch and dinner with a menu designed to maximize health and wellness based on science-backed research from organizations like the American Heart Association, the National Institutes of Health and the World Health Organization.

Guests could use a QR code on the menu to see the full nutritional profile of each dish, and how it could benefit their specific health needs.

A spokesman for the company said in a statement that Love.Life made the strategic decision to close because the new Culver City office complex where it was located had challenges with limited foot traffic and a “lower-than-expected return to office population.”

The restaurant, however, plans to reopen at a new flagship location across town in the El Segundo neighborhood of Los Angeles next summer, where Love.Life will offer “a one-stop immersive experience with nourishing food, evolved medical care, fitness and cutting-edge wellness therapies all under one roof.”

The restaurant was just one aspect of the company, which promises to provide “patient-centric medical care that is outcome-driven, personalized and dedicated to addressing all aspects of an individual’s health.”

There will also be a telehealth component involving licensed physicians. The goal will be developing an individual “lifestyle medicine” plan to manage and prevent disease.

“The conventional medical system is fundamentally flawed, focusing on managing diseases and treating symptoms rather than prevention and finding the root cause,” said Mackey in a statement. “Studies show that 80% of chronic diseases can be prevented and reversed through diet and lifestyle changes, which are the focus of Love.Life’s philosophy and are rarely included in conventional treatment plans.”