In the latest sign of just how dire things have become in one of America’s largest cities, a major supermarket in San Francisco has announced that it is closing its doors only a year after opening.
According to the San Francisco Standard, a representative for Whole Foods supermarket in downtown San Francisco said in a statement, “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.”
The Standard also reported that the company cited growing problems with drug use and crime in the area as the reason for its closure. It had already been forced to slash its business hours due to the danger of theft.
Meanwhile, residents who frequently used Whole Foods, while sad to see the supermarket go after only a year, are not at all surprised that they were forced to close.
Allyn Mejia, who frequently shopped there, said that she had seen security concerns at the store. “I’ve seen security run into the store real quick before, like, something happened,” she said.
Meanwhile, Matt Dorsey, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors whose district includes the supermarket, took to Twitter to say that he was also unsurprised at the store’s closure.
“I’m incredibly disappointed but sadly unsurprised by the temporary closure of Mid-Market’s Whole Foods,” he said.
I’m incredibly disappointed but sadly unsurprised by the temporary closure of Mid-Market’s Whole Foods. (1/7) https://t.co/lthpC90xTL
— Matt Dorsey (@mattdorsey) April 10, 2023
Dorsey said he understood the concerns that many in the area had about crime and drug use and said blamed the understaffing of the San Francisco Police Department as the reason for the deteriorating conditions in the city.
San Franciscans have been denied the benefits of a fully staffed police department for nearly 30 years. Today, our current police understaffing crisis has never been worse. (5/7) pic.twitter.com/UUAntuvyaO
— Matt Dorsey (@mattdorsey) April 10, 2023
To solve this, he wrote on Twitter, “I’m working on with @Stefani4CA 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.”
Today, I’m waiving privilege to publicly announce a drafting request I’m working on with @Stefani4CA 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. (3/7)
— Matt Dorsey (@mattdorsey) April 10, 2023
Others took to Twitter to point out that this is the fault of the leftists running San Francisco, who have been refusing to enforce the law and have let criminals run the streets of the city, all while denying that there is no problem with crime.
San Francisco politicians and the local news media say crime isn’t increasing, but Whole Foods begs to differ. Today Whole Foods announced that it is abandoning its one-year-old flagship store downtown because of crime and rampant drug dealing. https://t.co/2j4l0sJWc6
— Michael Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) April 11, 2023
“San Francisco is a failed city,” one Twitter user wrote, “It cannot protect the safety of its residents, tourists, or businesses.” He then called on Gov. Gavin Newsom to do something to solve the problem.
San Francisco is a failed city. It cannot protect the safety of its residents, tourists, or businesses.
Gov. @GavinNewsom needs to halt his presidential run and send in the national guard to shut down the dangerous and deadly open air drug markets.pic.twitter.com/q9x6Wwze8S
— Michael Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) April 11, 2023
People are absolutely right to point this out. It is not only San Francisco, but almost every major liberal city in the country has become almost unliveable thanks to leftist policies that have destroyed the quality of life in these areas.
The fact that a major supermarket in downtown could only survive a year before it closed shows just how bad the situation has become in San Francisco. They need to rapidly change course if they are to survive.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
