One of the largest supermarkets in downtown San Francisco closed its doors this week due to deteriorating street conditions nearby.
Increased drug use and crime near the Whole Foods on Eighth and Market, which opened just one year ago, contributed to the store’s closing, a city hall source told the San Francisco 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 the store, we will evaluate a reopening of our Trinity location.”
The news comes after a recent spate of violent attacks upon prominent San Franciscans. Cash App founder Bob Lee was fatally stabbed last week and former fire commissioner Don Carmignani was brutally beat over the head with a pipe by a homeless man, surviving.
When a team from CNN traveled to San Francisco’s city hall to report on the crime issue, members of the crew had their bags stolen out of their rental car nearby.
The crime wave that has hit that city shows no sign of abating. San Francisco has been experiencing lower foot traffic due to remote work, which has caused many small businesses to shut down and street conditions to deteriorate. The city’s ability to deal with its continued problems is compounded by a deficit which has ballooned to nearly $800 million.
Supervisor Matt Dorsey, whose district includes the Whole Foods Market, said on Twitter he was “incredibly disappointed” by the store being shut down.
“Today, I’m waiving privilege to publicly announce a drafting request I’m working on with [District Supervisor Catherine Stefani] for a Charter Amendment entitled the ‘San Francisco Police Department Full Staffing Act,’ which will get San Francisco to a fully staffed police department within 5 years,” Dorsey said.
“Whole Foods’ closure — together with many other safety-related challenges we’ve seen recently — is Exhibit A as to why San Francisco can no longer afford NOT to solve our police understaffing crisis,” he continued.
The supervisor told the Standard last month that San Francisco’s police department has 335 fewer full-duty police officers than it did in 2017, with a total of 1,537 officers in January. City demands require at least 2,100 sworn officers.