Whole Foods Market's Exit from Chicago's Englewood Community: Industry Insights Behind the Controversy

For residents of the Englewood neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Whole Foods Market means far more than just a grocery store.

Six years ago, the specialty food retailer opened with great fanfare and pride as the anchor tenant of the Englewood Square retail development, and was expected to bring change to one of the city's most economically challenged communities. At the groundbreaking ceremony, Walter Robb, then co-CEO of Whole Foods, said the store would become "one of the most meaningful things our company has ever done."

By mid-2017, the Englewood store was one of four Whole Foods locations in impoverished neighborhoods among the company's more than 460 stores nationwide at the time.

However, a few years later, the store closed at the end of 2022, sparking strong backlash from city officials and community leaders. Whole Foods has remained silent about the exit, which was announced alongside plans to close five other stores.

A Whole Foods spokesperson told Bloomberg at the time the plans were announced: "As we continue to position Whole Foods Market for long-term success, we regularly evaluate the performance and growth potential of each store and made the difficult decision to close six stores." When asked for specific reasons regarding the Englewood store closure, the Whole Foods spokesperson declined to provide further information to Grocery Dive.

Sources told Grocery Dive that Whole Foods' presence in Englewood and its closure deeply affected residents who worked and shopped there. After its departure, questions about why Whole Foods left remain unanswered.

For some, the closure evokes the phenomenon of large supermarket chains putting down roots in low-income communities of color, only to leave after a few years or even months. Against the broader backdrop of addressing inequities in access to healthy food, here are lessons food retailers can learn from the operation and closure of Whole Foods' Englewood store.

Examining fit

The Englewood store, located at 832 W. 63rd St., deviated from Whole Foods' typical pattern of locating in affluent areas. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot once called the store a "fascinating experiment" under former Mayor Rahm Emanuel, saying Emanuel had supported a supermarket that was too expensive for the community and did not have enough residents patronizing it.

Jeanette Taylor, the Chicago 20th Ward alderperson representing the surrounding area, said the store did generate "a lot of buzz" when it first opened. But over the years, the chain faced ongoing questions about whether it was a good fit for the area.

Whole Foods' attempt to open a store in an impoverished area resembles retailers' embrace of experimental efforts, such as Target exploring different store formats or Fareway's small-store pilot in rural Iowa. However, experiments can also backfire, especially when they affect a community that already lacks access to food.

For communities with few or no grocery options, determining whether a supermarket is a good fit and tailoring the store to local residents' needs and shopping behaviors can help avoid future negative impacts and lay the groundwork for success.

According to a survey of more than 300 Englewood residents conducted this summer by Teamwork Englewood, a community nonprofit, price and product selection were the two biggest issues with Whole Foods in the neighborhood, said Brianna Hobbs, the organization's health and wellness program manager. Hobbs noted that the store was small at just 18,000 square feet, and its limited product assortment did not lend itself to one-stop shopping. According to Whole Foods' website, it typically seeks retail locations between 25,000 and 50,000 square feet.

Taylor has also heard complaints about the store's high prices. She believes a local supermarket might better serve residents' needs than a national chain: "I wish we had a grocer from Chicago. I wish we could grow our own grocer. I'm tired of the big-box stores... I want to see us grow a group of store owners who look like us and reflect our community."

Supporting the community

Sources noted that Whole Foods' early days in Englewood demonstrated its commitment to the community. The store hosted social gatherings and offered an in-store meeting room for people to hold events, such as "5 After 5" — five wine pairings starting at 5 p.m., each $5 including tax.

"It was almost like a big community party... The community really loved it, and people really came," Hobbs said.

Hobbs also highlighted that the store showcased Black-owned businesses and local products. According to the Chicago Tribune, to make the assortment more affordable, Whole Foods initially priced about 30 items at the Englewood store — such as milk, bread, eggs, and some produce — lower than at its other Chicago locations.

The chain also hired a community liaison for the store — a position that was posted a year before it moved into Englewood. Researchers note that such roles can help strengthen the connection between a company and the local community it serves.

Whole Foods also supported the Englewood Community Kitchen at the Primo Center, creating a space for the greater Englewood community to participate in cooking demonstrations, classes, and meetings.

Taylor said support was a two-way street. She noted that if Whole Foods was facing financial pressure at the store, the company should have sought help and input from the community. She envisioned a conversation: "(You should) work with the community and say, 'Hey, we need more sales. We're not even making enough to pay the employees here.' The reason things didn't go well is because we didn't communicate with each other, we didn't work together."

Dealing with the impact of the exit

The Whole Foods closure did not stop Englewood residents from buying groceries. At roughly equidistant locations from the original store, there is an Aldi and a Go Green Community Fresh Market. But it still affected food access for residents in the area.

"(Residents) don't want to have to drive out of their community to get healthy food, but they have to, and that's extremely disappointing," Hobbs said of the Whole Foods closure.

Whole Foods drew widespread condemnation from residents and state and local politicians — including the city's current mayor — for leaving Englewood, and its PR strategy exacerbated some of the criticism.

The timing of two announcements also intensified the sting of the closure. Just days before Amazon announced plans to close the Englewood store as one of six Whole Foods locations slated for closure, Whole Foods had prominently promoted the opening of a new store in a new high-rise at the border of Chicago's affluent River North and Gold Coast neighborhoods, saying the new store's design was "inspired by the historic homes, storefronts, and upscale restaurants of the surrounding neighborhoods, featuring elements such as elegant arches, reclaimed handmade tiles, and glazed brick."

Announcing a store opening in a predominantly white, affluent area while pulling out of a predominantly Black community handed the company a negative narrative that the media eagerly covered. As one headline summed it up: "Whole Foods is preparing to leave Englewood, and the company plans to open a new River North store."

Hobbs said one of the top desires of residents in the Teamwork Englewood survey for the next supermarket was prioritizing local hiring. When Whole Foods opened, about 40 of its 100 employees came from Englewood. A company spokesperson said all eligible employees at the store were offered transfers to other Whole Foods locations. Those who did not accept transfers received severance.

Whole Foods' nearby stores in Hyde Park and Evergreen Park on the South Side are approximately 16 and 22 minutes by car, respectively, from the closed Englewood location.

Speculation continues over why the supermarket left Englewood. Hobbs said Stephanie Coleman, the alderperson for the area where Whole Foods was located, held a community town hall in the fall about the impending closure, but the chain did not attend, leaving many questions unanswered. According to Block Club Chicago, at that meeting, neighbors and community leaders emphasized the need for accountability from grocery operators and expressed a desire for local businesses to move into the space. Coleman did not respond to Grocery Dive's media inquiries.

Similar transparency issues have plagued other grocers, such as when Aldi abruptly left another South Side community, Auburn Gresham, last June.

Yellow Banana, a Black-owned company operating dozens of supermarkets under the Save A Lot brand, took over Whole Foods' lease in Englewood in December and plans to open a supermarket at the location. Michael Nance, co-owner of Yellow Banana, told Block Club Chicago that the company plans to invite South Side businesses to operate the store's hot food bar, bakery, coffee bar, and juice bar, noting that Yellow Banana will "engage with the community" to meet local residents' needs. It is unclear when the store will open.

Hobbs said she would tell anyone moving into the space: "Enter the community with humility, eager to learn, show us your commitment, because residents really want someone who is dedicated to putting down roots in the community, uplifting and supporting us." She added, "We don't need someone to come for a few years and then leave, and then we have to start the process all over again."