Erewhon Market

Erewhon Market
Company typePrivate
Industry
Founded1966; 58 years ago (1966)[1]
Founders
Headquarters
Los Angeles, California
,
United States
Number of locations
10[2]
Areas served
Los Angeles County, California
Key people
  • Tony Antoci (CEO)
  • Vito Antoci (EVP)
Number of employees
approx. 216[3][4]
Websiteerewhonmarket.com

Erewhon Market (/ˈɛrɛhwɒn/ ERR-eh-hwon) is an American upscale supermarket chain with ten locations, all in Los Angeles County, California, United States.[5][6][7] The chain is noted for being a popular locale frequented by entertainment figures as reported in celebrity gossip and lifestyle publications.

History

Erewhon was founded in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1966 by Michio and Aveline Kushi.[1][8][9][10] The name "Erewhon" is derived from the 1872 satirical novel Erewhon by Samuel Butler. In the novel, Erewhon, an anagram of "nowhere", is a utopia in which individuals are responsible for their own health and prosecuted for the crime of being ill.[11] With ten locations in Los Angeles County,[2] the brand has been compared to the early years of Whole Foods Market.[12]

The Erewhon Organic brand was originally a health foods producer with a single store. In 1979, the brand was purchased from bankruptcy by employee Tom DeSilva.[13] In 2011, Tony and Josephine Antoci purchased the last store on Beverly Boulevard that remained open from the widow of Tom DeSilva.[14][15][16] Tom Antoci created and developed the brand into an upscale supermarket.[17] Following several years of increasing financial performance, New York–based private equity firm Stripes Group purchased a substantial minority stake in Erewhon in 2019.[17]

In August 2022, Erewhon opened their eighth location and first Beverly Hills location in the former Williams-Sonoma space.[18][19] As of 2023, Erewhon ships nationwide to all 50 states, as well as Australia, Canada and the UK.[20] In September 2023, Erewhon opened a location in Pasadena, the first east of Interstate 5.[21]

In 2024, Erewhon filed an environmental lawsuit to block the construction of a mixed-use development which included 520 apartments (78 of which were subsidized affordable housing), groundfloor retail and restaurants on the lot of a vacant 190-room hotel in Los Angeles.[22]

Locations

Erewhon is alluded to as "Anavrin" in the Netflix original series You. Protagonist Joe Goldberg works at the store.[28]

The South Park episode Back to the Cold War references Erewhon as part of a running joke.[29]

Erewhon is referenced in the Wallice song "Off the Rails."[30]

Erewhon is referenced in the Logic songs "Check Please" [31] and "Clone Wars III."[32]

Erewhon is referenced by guest star Corbin Bleu in the fourth episode of season three of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.[33]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Our Story | Erewhon Market". Erewhon. Archived from the original on 2023-09-06. Retrieved 2023-09-06.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Locations". Erewhon Market. Archived from the original on 2023-09-08. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
  3. ^ "Erewhon Market Overview". PitchBook. Archived from the original on 2023-09-08. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
  4. ^ "Erewhon Market Careers and Employment". Archived from the original on 2023-09-09. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  5. ^ Howley, Kerry (2023-11-06). "Erewhon's Secrets". The Cut.
  6. ^ "What Is Erewhon? All About the Celebrity-Loved Grocery Store Chain". Peoplemag. Retrieved 2023-08-28.
  7. ^ Delouya, Samantha. "I compared the prices at Los Angeles's high-end grocery store Erewhon with 2 other popular markets". Business Insider. Retrieved 2023-08-28.
  8. ^ Martin, Douglas (23 July 2001). "Aveline Kushi, 78, Advocate of Macrobiotic Diet for Health". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  9. ^ Lewin, Tamar (5 January 2015). "Michio Kushi, Advocate of Natural Foods in the U.S., Dies at 88". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  10. ^ Berlinger, Max (17 February 2021). "How Erewhon Became L.A.'s Hottest Hangout". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  11. ^ "13 Inspiring Business Branding Examples for Strong Brand Positioning". 2021-01-13. Retrieved 2023-08-28.
  12. ^ Erewhon's New Store Calls To Mind Whole Foods' Beginnings Forbes, Phil Lempert, April 11, 2018
  13. ^ Howley, Kerry (2023-11-06). "Erewhon's Secrets". The Cut. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
  14. ^ Grocer is on a natural growth path Los Angeles Times, Ronald D. White, January 31, 2016
  15. ^ Hoberman, Natalie (2018-04-20). "Tony and Josephine Antoci | Betty Warner | Brentwood". The Real Deal. Retrieved 2023-08-28.
  16. ^ "History of Erewhon - Natural Foods Pioneer in the United States (1966-2011)". SoyInfo Center. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  17. ^ a b Organic Grocer Erewhon Eyes Expansion After Private Equity Deal Chloe Sorvino, Forbes, October 7, 2019
  18. ^ "Erewhon Coming To Beverly Hills To Fill Former Williams-Sonoma Space". What Now Los Angeles. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  19. ^ a b Ginsberg, Merle (1 September 2022). "The Well-Heeled Hungry Converge on New Beverly Drive Erewhon". Los Angeles.
  20. ^ "Erewhon". Erewhon. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  21. ^ "Erewhon Market grand opening brings hundreds to historic Pasadena building". Pasadena Star News. 2023-09-14. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  22. ^ "Erewhon sues city to stop Sportsmen's Lodge development in Studio City". Los Angeles Times. 2024-05-13.
  23. ^ Fear and Loathing at Erewhon, the High-Margin Grocery Store That Might Just Take Over the World Or at least Los Angeles… Los Angeles, Steven Blum, August 19, 2019
  24. ^ Andrea Chang (9 December 2021). "How Erewhon made luxury groceries a lifestyle". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 13 April 2022.
  25. ^ RDC Architecture News (23 March 2023) Erewhon Opens New Location in Culver City
  26. ^ Calayag, Keith (6 September 2023). "Erewhon Pasadena Opens on Sept. 13". Pasadena Now.
  27. ^ "Organic Grocer Erewhon Coming to Iconic South Lake Avenue Building". Pasadena Now. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  28. ^ "It Looks Like Anavrin, the Store From 'You' Season 2, Is Totally Based on a Real Grocery Store". Cosmopolitan. 31 December 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  29. ^ "Back to the Cold War". South Park. Season 25. 2 March 2022. Comedy Central.
  30. ^ Wallice – Off the Rails, retrieved 2022-09-29
  31. ^ Logic – Check Please, retrieved 2024-09-08
  32. ^ Logic – Clone Wars III, retrieved 2024-09-08
  33. ^ "HSMTMTS Season 3 Episode 4 | Disney+". www.disneyplus.com. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
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