When William Rath mapped out his post-law college journey to Los Angeles in Might, his itinerary included town’s quintessential landmarks: gazing up on the Hollywood signal from Beachwood Canyon, taking a celeb houses tour and scanning the Pacific Ocean for whales off the coast of Lengthy Seaside. However amid these basic stops, one vacation spot rose above the remaining. Erewhon, the luxurious 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 outdoors, he retreated to his rental automobile within the shade of a close-by parking storage, and filmed a TikTok evaluate.
“TikTok was the principle motive I went. It’s at all times been on my ‘For You’ web page,” says 25-year-old Rath. “I at all times see loads of influencers going there and making an attempt various things. It’s a giant pattern, 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, nevertheless it’s additionally now a bucket record vacationer vacation spot. Just like the Hollywood Stroll of Fame or the Getty Museum, the upscale grocer attracts out-of-town guests in the hunt 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 attraction. In an period when vacationers search experiences as a lot as landmarks, the shop affords one thing singular: a technique to pattern a sure sort of shiny L.A. life. It’s wellness as leisure, grocery procuring 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 second,” 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 elements that haven’t but hit mass retailers. “A minimum of 40% of what I see at Erewhon, I can’t discover wherever 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 title, an anagram of “nowhere,” from Samuel Butler’s 1872 satirical novel of the identical title, which centered on a utopia the place sickness is taken into account against the law. After Tony Antoci and spouse Josephine acquired the model in 2011, the shops grew to become sleeker and extra light-filled; valet parking grew to become 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 movie star cachet, the model has turned on a regular basis procuring right into a sort 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 attraction for Chloe Forero, an influencer from Chicago, who visited L.A. in Might. “It was very a lot a Complete Meals on steroids,” she says. “It simply appeared extra like a social experiment than a spot folks store each day.”
Forero, 22, walked away with a sushi roll, two juices and a cookie totaling $65. “The cookie was nice,” she admits. “However I ate that sushi pondering perhaps it will change my life. Maybe this sushi shall be so good it’ll be definitely worth the price ticket 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, particularly, has turn out to be a stage. “A lot about L.A., for higher or worse, is about being seen,” she says. “Erewhon is a spot the place folks go, and so 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 worth ($20), she opted for 2 inexpensive drinks and nonetheless walked away thrilled.
“It seems like while you’re watching a film. It sort of felt like a film second seeing it in actual 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 sizzling 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 because of funds from TikTok as a part of the platform’s Creator Rewards Program.
“It was price going one time, simply to have the snort and say I spent $90 on lunch,” he says, though he wouldn’t disclose how a lot he made. “It won’t be fun for everyone, however to me, it was worthwhile.”
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 gave the impression to be miles away from an everyday grocery retailer, so it was entertaining in that perspective. It felt like this out-of-reach L.A. factor,” 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 observe leisure regulation someday, his $100 tab was much less a visit expense than a ceremony of passage.
“This couldn’t be my weekly place for groceries, however If I had a job in L.A., perhaps I’d go, though it must be like as soon as each two weeks,” he explains.
When requested to rank Erewhon among the many different iconic spots he visited, he didn’t skip a beat.
“Actually?” he says. “In-N-Out was nice, however I most well-liked Erewhon.”
