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whole Foods is temporarily closing its flagship store in downtown San Francisco just a year after it opened Concern for the safety of employees.
A Whole Foods spokesperson said the 65,000-square-foot store at Trinity Place in the Mid-Market neighborhood closed its doors Monday to “ensure the safety” of its employees. Independent.
Grocery store Its opening hours were shortened last year due to a rampant burglary and bathroom rules were changed after staff found syringes and pipes in restrooms. san francisco standard informed of.
City after city was on edge series of violent incidents including the murder of cash app founded by bob lee On 4th April.
A Whole Foods spokesperson said the closure was a “difficult decision”, and that all employees would be transferred to nearby stores.
Matt Dorsey, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, said he was “incredibly disappointed but saddened” by the temporary closure. in a Twitter post.
“Our neighborhood has waited a long time for this supermarket, but we are also well aware of the problems experienced with drug-related retail theft, neighborhood drug markets, and the many security issues associated with them,” Mr. Dorsey wrote.
Bob Lee, the creator of Cash App, was found stabbed to death in San Francisco in the early hours of April 4.
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He called for a charter amendment to fully staff the city’s police force, which is 500 officers lesswithin five years.
He wrote on Twitter, “The Whole Foods closure — along with the many other safety challenges we’ve seen recently — is Exhibit A why San Francisco can’t solve our police crisis anymore.”
Mayor London Breed said in a statement that police and city leaders were working with Whole Foods to address safety concerns.
He added, “Police will continue to enforce aggressively against the open drug trade, maximize police response to urgent calls for assistance, partner with retailers to prevent shoplifting in their stores, and Will introduce new street vending regulations to disrupt the sale of stolen goods.” ,
He said the city was committed to spending an additional $25m to pay police officers for overtime and on recruitment and retention efforts.
The stabbing of Lee in the Rincon Hill neighborhood last week and the brutal attack on Don Carmignani, a former city fire commissioner, the next day sparked claims that violent crime was out of control in San Francisco.
The murder and violent crime rates in the city have remained stable over the past three years, police eye data show,
But many city residents say the city has failed to tackle rampant homelessness and drug use. The city saw a 23 per cent increase in property crime between 2020 and 2022, mostly due to an increase in burglaries and robberies, For the San Francisco Police Crime Dashboard.
The opening of one of the largest supermarkets in San Francisco last March was announced as a “flagship” Whole Foods store with “design nods to classic San Francisco”, such as the industrial feel of the Tenderloin area and the colors of the Golden Gate Bridge.