When William Rath mapped out his post-law college journey to Los Angeles in Could, his itinerary included the town’s quintessential landmarks: gazing up on the Hollywood signal from Beachwood Canyon, taking a star properties tour, scanning the Pacific Ocean for whales off the coast of Lengthy Seashore. However amid these basic stops, one vacation spot rose above the remaining. Erewhon, the posh grocer, was a nonnegotiable — not for its groceries, however for the clout, the curiosity and the spectacle.
Rath, a freshly minted graduate from the College of Oregon and influencer, made his pilgrimage to the Beverly Hills location, the gleaming wellness emporium nestled simply steps from Rodeo Drive, the place Hailey Bieber’s Strawberry Glaze Pores and skin Smoothie routinely attracts queues 20-people deep. Unable to discover a seat exterior, he retreated to his rental automotive within the shade of a close-by parking storage, and filmed a TikTok assessment.
“TikTok was the main reason I went. It’s always been on my ‘For You’ page,” says 25-year-old Rath. “I always see a lot of influencers going there and trying different things. It’s a big trend, and it hasn’t stopped.”
As soon as the area of wellness devotees and Hollywood insiders, Erewhon has reworked into one thing extra common: for some, it’s their native grocery retailer, however it’s additionally now a bucket checklist vacationer vacation spot. Just like the Hollywood Stroll of Fame or the Getty Museum, the upscale grocer attracts out-of-town guests looking for not simply sustenance, however standing — a smoothie, a snapshot and social media proof they have been there.
Hailey Bieber’s Strawberry Glaze Pores and skin Smoothie ($20) attracts vacationers to Erewhon.
(Dania Maxwell/Los Angeles Occasions)
Aspiration defines a lot of Erewhon’s enchantment. In an period when vacationers search experiences as a lot as landmarks, the shop affords one thing singular: a approach to pattern a sure type of shiny L.A. life. It’s wellness as leisure, grocery buying as standing image. Some vacationers are simply folks on trip there to gawk, whereas others are influencers there for content material.
“It’s a cultural moment,” says Christina Basias, 36, who has checked out Erewhon’s Santa Monica, Venice and Silver Lake places when touring from New Jersey with spouse Alexis Androulakis, 38. Once they go, the wonder product educators and entrepreneurs scope out new product traits and wellness substances that haven’t but hit mass retailers. “At least 40% of what I see at Erewhon, I can’t find anywhere else,” Androulakis provides.
Based in 1966 by macrobiotic pioneers Michio and Aveline Kushi, Erewhon started as a pure meals stall in a Boston market earlier than opening a location in L.A. in 1969. The pair borrowed the shop’s identify, an anagram of “nowhere,” from Samuel Butler’s 1872 satirical novel of the identical identify, which centered on a utopia the place sickness is taken into account a criminal offense. After Tony Antoci and his spouse Josephine acquired the model in 2011, the shops turned sleeker and extra light-filled; valet parking turned the norm. Maybe most importantly, Erewhon started partnering with celebrities on unique smoothie collaborations with none extra iconic than Hailey Bieber’s Strawberry Glaze Pores and skin Smoothie.
The outside of Erewhon is seen in Culver Metropolis in 2024.
(Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Occasions)
By mastering the intersection of curated wellness and celeb cachet, the model has turned on a regular basis buying right into a type of luxurious theater.
For a lot of first-time guests, going to the shop is pushed by seeing the phenomenon for themselves. That was the enchantment for Chloe Forero, an influencer from Chicago, who visited L.A. in Could. “It was very much a Whole Foods on steroids,” she says. “It just seemed more like a social experiment than a place people shop day to day.”
Forero, 22, walked away with a sushi roll, two juices and a cookie totaling $65. “The cookie was great,” she admits. “But I ate that sushi thinking maybe this will change my life. Perhaps this sushi will be so good it’ll be worth the price tag that comes with it. It was not.”
Some longtime Erewhon consumers — sure, a few of whom are influencers themselves — grumble on social media in regards to the Erewhon vacationers. Meredith Lynch, a Los Angeles native, author and influencer who ceaselessly dissects influencer tradition on-line, says the Beverly Hills location, specifically, has turn into a stage. “So much about L.A., for better or worse, is about being seen,” she says. “Erewhon is a place where people go, and they get seen.”
Contained in the Culver Metropolis Erewhon in 2024.
(Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Occasions)
The performative side resonates with younger out-of-towners. Kiara Dewrance, a chef from Cape City, South Africa, had hoped to strive the Bieber smoothie when she visited L.A. final September. However after seeing the value ($20), she opted for 2 cheaper drinks and nonetheless walked away thrilled.
“It kind of feels like when you’re watching a movie. It kind of felt like a movie moment seeing it in real life,” says Dewrance, 27.
Gibson Ardoline, a 19-year-old influencer and enterprise administration main on the College of Florida, spent $91 on lunch when he first toured L.A. final November, which included sushi, juice and one of many retailer’s scorching bar meals. He offset the prices by filming two TikTok reels chronicling his expertise, which acquired greater than 1 million views mixed and earned him greater than what he spent at Erewhon due to funds from TikTok as a part of the platform’s Creator Rewards Program.
“It was worth going one time, just to have the laugh and say I spent $90 on lunch,” he says, though he wouldn’t disclose how a lot he made. “It might not be a laugh for everybody, but to me, it was profitable.”
Not everybody leaves ambivalent. Patrick Oatman, a mannequin and economics main on the College of Connecticut, was genuinely impressed when he dropped by Erewhon final June.
“It seemed to be miles away from a regular grocery store, so it was entertaining in that perspective. It felt like this out-of-reach L.A. thing,” says Oatman, 21.
Erewhon carries a number of branded wellness merchandise, like this Neptune Blue Sea Moss gel.
(Juno Carmel / Los Angeles Occasions)
For Rath, who hopes to maneuver to L.A. and apply leisure regulation in the future, his $100 tab was much less a visit expense than a ceremony of passage.
“This couldn’t be my weekly place for groceries, but If I had a job in L.A., maybe I would go, although it would have to be like once every two weeks,” he explains.
When requested to rank Erewhon among the many different iconic spots he visited, he didn’t skip a beat.
“Honestly?” he says. “In-N-Out was fine, but I preferred Erewhon.”
