Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Retail
Fact-Checked

Our content is fact checked by our senior editorial staff to reflect accuracy and ensure our readers get sound information and advice to make the smartest, healthiest choices.

We adhere to structured guidelines for sourcing information and linking to other resources, including scientific studies and medical journals.

If you have any concerns about the accuracy of our content, please reach out to our editors by e-mailing editors@bestlifeonline.com.

Grocery Stores, Including Whole Foods, Are Closing Locations, Starting Now

Both large and small food retailers are on the chopping block.

whole foods store
Ken Wolter / Shutterstock

In a pinch, most grocery chains can get you what you need. But for those who follow specialized diets, not all stores are created equal. Instead, you might seek out a distinctly healthier option. If you're someone who likes to shop at health food grocers or retailers who stick to local and natural products, you'll want to be aware of the latest closures. Whole Foods and other smaller establishments have announced that they're closing locations. Read on to find out which stores are shutting down.

READ THIS NEXT: Grocery Chains, Including Safeway and Stop & Shop, Are Closing Stores, Starting Sunday.


Whole Foods shuttered a location last night.

people walk past whole foods marketShutterstock

Whole Foods was the first to shutter a location, closing up shop in downtown San Francisco, CNN reported. The store at Trinity Place in the Mid-Market neighborhood closed on April 10, with the company citing safety as the reason.

“To ensure the safety of our Team Members, we have made the difficult decision to close the Trinity store for the time being," a Whole Foods spokesperson told Best Life. "All Team Members will be transferred to one of our nearby locations.”

The store has only been open for a little over a year, first opening as a "flagship store" in March 2022. According to the San Francisco Standard, the store had already cut hours in Oct. 2022 due to theft. The following month, it restricted bathroom use to customers only after drug paraphernalia was discovered.

No other Whole Foods locations are currently scheduled to close, the company confirmed.

The closure caused a stir.

While the closure is allegedly temporary, there's no set reopening date—and both officials and customers are taking note.

"I'm incredibly disappointed but sadly unsurprised by the temporary closure of Mid-Market's Whole Foods," San Francisco Board of Supervisors member Matt Dorsey tweeted on April 10. "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."

Customers also expressed their disappointment in the closure, but they, too, have noticed an uptick in crime. "They just barely opened up. I hope they open again," Allyn Mejia, a shopper who works nearby, told the San Francisco Standard. "I've seen security run into the store real quick before, like something happened."

In a series of tweets, Dorsey also claimed that the Whole Foods closure and "many other safety-related challenges" speak to a larger issue of the city's "police understaffing crisis."

Smaller stores are closing as well.

A closed sign on the front door of a businessiStock / Warchi

It's not only big chains losing locations. On April 29, shoppers in Leighton, Pennsylvania, will say goodbye to a local health food store, Country Harmony Natural Foods. The shop, located at the Carbon Plaza Mall, has been open since Oct. 1998, selling natural and organic goods, Times News Online reported.

The store's owner, Susan Bodder, told the outlet that customers were "very sad" to hear the news.

"Some of them even in tears," she said. "They've come to depend on [us for] their health needs."

Bodder added that her customers "will be very missed," and thanked them for their patronage over the years.

But there is some good news, as Phebe Howard, the current store manager, is purchasing the portion of the business that includes hair analysis and ear candling, according to Times News Online. She will continue to provide these services to customers in the area.

Another health food store is exiting New York.

shopping at health food storeprogressman / Shutterstock

Health Beat Natural Foods, a mainstay in Johnson City, New York, for the past four decades, is closing up shop also, WBNG reported.

The closure was announced in an April 6 Facebook post, which confirmed that owner Michele Moelderis retiring.

"Thank you so much for 40 years of support!" Moelder wrote, thanking friends, family, and customers. "My goal when I opened was to educate and help people enjoy a healthier life by providing healthier food - vitamins and guidance!"

The store will stay open until its inventory is cleared out, and it's currently running a 20 percent off sale. Customers wished Moelder well on Facebook, but made it clear that the store will be missed.

"This is a great loss," one user wrote. "Wishing you the best!!"

Another added, "I have relied on your store for guidance over the years. Great store, wonderful staff! Best wishes for your retired future!"

US actress Blake Lively looks on during the premiere of the movie "It ends with us" in Copenhagen on August 9, 2024. (Photo by Nils Meilvang / Ritzau Scanpix / AFP) / Denmark OUT (

Cast Drama: Blake Lively Rumors

It Ends With Us opened to $50 million at the domestic box office, but rumors about a behind-the-scenes rift between director Justin Baldoni, 40, and Blake Lively, 36, continue to rumble on. Lively plays Lily Bloom, a florist who ends up in a toxic relationship with Ryle Kincaid (Baldoni), in the first major adaptation of a Colleen Hoover novel. The movie hadn’t even been released before the first rumors started about possible friction on set between Baldoni and the rest of the cast. No one has gone on the record to make a statement either way, but plenty of sources have been leaking gossip from the set. Here’s what’s been reported so far.

Creative Differences?

US actress Blake Lively poses for a photocall during the premiere of the movie "It ends with us" in Copenhagen on August 9, 2024. (Photo by Nils Meilvang / Ritzau Scanpix / AFP) / Denmark OUT (Photo by NILS MEILVANG/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images)Photo by NILS MEILVANG/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images

Keep ReadingShow less
The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

20 Best Cult Classic Movies

You never quite know when a movie might become a beloved cult classic—many of the following films were not runaway successes when they first came out, but have since cemented their place in cinema history. Comedy, science fiction, romance, and fantasy all feature heavily in this collection, which includes a movie where an actor made Mel Brooks laugh so hard the director lost money from ruined takes. Can you guess which one? Read on to find out!

RELATED: 20 Unforgettable Moments from Iconic Classic Films

Keep ReadingShow less
9 Warning Signs You're Drinking Too Much Water

9 Signs of Overhydration

Have we reached peak hydration culture? It’s become totally normalized for people to walk around carrying giant tumblers of liquids (remember the Stanley cup craze?) but is it necessary, or even dangerous to be drinking this much water? “People have this fear that they’re always dehydrated or underhydrated and they need to fix that regularly,” Colleen Muñoz, director and co-founder of the Hydration Health Center at the University of Hartford, tells the Wall Street Journal. “That’s probably not usually the case.” So how do you know if you’re overdoing it with the water? Here’s what the experts have to say.

RELATED: Your Drinking Water May Have These "Shockingly Toxic" Chemicals, EPA Now Warns

Keep ReadingShow less
Woman eating popcorn and watching Netflix.

Discover 8 Hidden Netflix Features

There’s no denying that the rise of Netflix has forever changed how we watch our favorite shows and movies. Anyone who has ever lost an evening—or even an entire weekend—to a binge-watching session can attest to just how easy it can be to get sucked in and hit that “Are you still watching?” prompt again and again. But even though the streaming service has made it simpler than ever to access content on demand, there are still some handy tricks you might not know about. Read on for eight cool and useful Netflix features you’re probably not using.

RELATED: Netflix Just Renewed These Hit Series for a Thrilling Second Season

Keep ReadingShow less
Woman coughing on the plane.

COVID Spikes: Top Ways to Stay Safe Amid Surge

It wouldn’t be quite accurate to say COVID is back when it never left, but the virus is making itself felt again. “We've seen a bit of a seasonal pattern emerge where we've had an uptick in COVID in the summer and then another one in the winter—usually the winter one being more severe,” Michael Ben-Aderet, MD, associate medical director of Hospital Epidemiology at Cedars-Sinai, tells Cedars-Sinai Newsroom. “The FLiRT variants is just a technical term for the continued mutation of the Omicron variants of COVID-19. And for the last year or so, pretty much all the variants of COVID-19 that we've seen circulate in the United States have been variants of Omicron.”While it’s natural to get nervous about COVID spikes, summer surges are not unusual. “This has been the case for a couple of years,” Dr. Ben-Aderet says. “Why that is, I don't think anyone truly understands. A lot of viruses are seasonal in nature. Some viruses are seasonal in summer; some are in winter. COVID-19 seems to be in both. Some of that has to do with the virus itself—the virology, how it spreads. And another aspect of it is human behavior: School being out, people being on vacation, people traveling, people mixing and doing more activities does play a role in that summer surge.”

With COVID surging in places, here’s how to protect yourself—and others—from getting sick.

Keep ReadingShow less