A Whole Foods Market in downtown San Francisco closed its doors Monday, citing safety concerns due to crime in the area.
The Trinity Place store opened in March 2022 and was once called a flagship outlet. Although the company did not note the specific conditions that led to the closure, the company cited the safety of its employees as a major concern.
According to the company, employees will be transferred to neighboring stores starting this week.
The location had altered its operating hours and changed its bathroom policy after drug paraphernalia was discovered.
San Francisco Board of Supervisors member Matt Dorsey expressed on Twitter his disappointment over the closing.
“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,” Mr. Dorsey said.
Mr. Dorsey said he plans to pass an amendment to fully staff the San Francisco police department within five years.
The closing comes during a nationwide focus on crime in San Francisco and big cities in general. Several viral videos of brazen thieves entering retail and grocery stores have caught the attention of citizens and legislators who push for more action to reduce crime in cities like San Francisco.
Retail chains like Walgreens and CVS have begun locking up vulnerable products like deodorant and razors in a way to deter thieves.
Though they are still below their all-time high, property crimes in San Francisco are up 23% from 2020. Violent crime has remained somewhat stagnant in the city. While 2021 and 2022 saw the same number of homicides, 56, the current number of homicides in 2023 is higher than what it was during the same period last year, according to San Francisco Police Department data.
• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.
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