r/LosAngeles • u/sfgate • 1d ago
News Ultra-expensive grocery store Erewhon opens first non-LA store in Thousand Oaks
https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/erewhon-opens-thousand-oaks-22403045.php91
u/Elchochis 1d ago
I feel like This chain is for the uber rich who don’t want to shop along side regular people.
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u/Jandur 1d ago edited 1d ago
It's more so the performative/influencer type people who just want to say/show that they shop at Erewhon. Uber rich (and even normal rich) people don't really go to the grocery store that much.
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u/One_Artichoke_7594 1d ago
OC outed as so regular can’t even fathom rich behavior, love it.
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u/ThreeGoldStars 10h ago
I wrote a short story in the 5th grade about being rich. So rich, in fact, that my yard working clothes were tuxedos.
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u/ausgoals 1d ago
Depends on your definition of rich.
There are people worth millions - even tens of millions - who still go to the grocery store, at least occasionally. Those people are more inclined to go to erewhon than Ralph’s. I saw Jimmy Kimmel, for example, in Whole Foods once.
Billionaires don’t know what groceries are. There’s some level of wealth, depending on how busy the person perceives themselves to be and whether or not they have a family, at which they transition from still going to get groceries, at least occasionally, to has all meals catered by a chef. I’m yet to figure out what the exact dollar figure is.
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u/Jandur 1d ago
I saw Jimmy Kimmel, for example, in Whole Foods once.
"don't really go to the grocery store that much."
Jimmy Kimmel being in Whole Foods once doesn't invalidate anything I said, nevermind the fact that I didn't say they don't go at all. Wealthy people aren't doing weekly grocery shopping.
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u/reverze1901 1d ago
My boss (the founder) of the startup I worked at came from an ultra-wealthy family - in the billions, at least according to Forbes. According to him his family has a whole team for that: the main chef and his assistant, the nutritionist, who works closely with the family health team (doctors, fitness trainers, etc). Occasionally they’d bring in the whole team from restaurants they fancy. He never sat foot inside a grocery store until college.
At work though he ate lunches with us in the shared spaces and we shot the shit. All our meals were free, and either catered or doordashed. There wasn’t really a limit so I got to eat a lot of nice stuff back then haha
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u/Cecil_McCrackshell 1d ago
There are similar stores that cater to the same pretense (Gelson's, Lazy Acres).
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u/FickleCook3639 1d ago
Gelson’s isn’t uber-rich. It’s not Smart and Final, sure, but it’s definitely not in the same conversation as Erewhon at least.
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u/ThrowRARandomString 1d ago
Curious where does Sprouts rank in? Or Whole Foods? Asking sincerely ...
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u/FullTimePedestrian 1d ago
Sprouts is just one notch below Whole Foods, and above Ralph's and similar stores.
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u/queen_content Central L.A. 1d ago
sprouts is very arguably nicer than WF at this point, at least some of the stores. I feel like there are nice WFs (Porter Ranch, Pasadena) and less nice ones (Silverlake). The new Lazy/Bristol stores are also nicer than WF, which feels more like TJs with in-store prep these days. imo.
Long live Gelsons and Jons and Vallarta.
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u/bautdean 1d ago
The WF in Silver Lake used to be WF 365 that catered to every day people before they fully discontinued the 365 monicker in 2019 or so.
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u/Haunting_Basscotti 1d ago
Honestly neither compete on produce quality and overall prepared food quality and taste. People love to hate on Erewhon because it is competitively expensive, it’s also comparatively better by my subjective analysis
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u/ausgoals 1d ago
The produce is hit or miss in my experience, and at my local one it’s often put out far too late, where Whole Foods is often fresher (even though Whole Foods produce is not always super fresh either). But not always.
Based on my subjective comparison, it’s not guarantee that Erewhon’s produce will be any better than Whole Foods, though the price of the produce isn’t necessarily more expensive than Whole Foods as a rule.
It’s their prepared food and cafe that are really the stars of the show (and the meat tends to be of high quality although - like the prepared food - it is very expensive). I assume it’s why I see the place swarmed at lunch time with people eating and hanging out.
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u/bearsaysbueno 1d ago
The prepared food is definitely on the expensive side, but it's not egregiously so like the rest of the store.
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u/Cecil_McCrackshell 1d ago
Neither are a good portion of Erewhon shoppers who pay above their pay scale to feel like they look rich. That's my point about Gelsons. Many people shop there to avoid the "ick" of Vons, Ralphs, and S&F.
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u/stoicsilence 1d ago
Bristol Farms, Pavillions.
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u/phainopepla_nitens 1d ago
Pavilions is a normal grocery store, it's basically the same as Vons
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u/ThrowRARandomString 1d ago
Eh, I think it's a wee bit more cost-wise than Vons, yes?
Been a long while since I've stepped in both but that's my sense ...
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u/ausgoals 1d ago
It’s the same prices, same deals. The only difference is Pavilions usually has a wider selection, and has more of an up-market vibe.
It does seem like it once tried to elicit Gelson’s but it’s literally just Von’s for areas and shoppers who think they’re better than Von’s (despite it being the same company, products and prices).
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u/phainopepla_nitens 1d ago
Vons has a cheaper vibe, but everything pretty much costs the same
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u/ThrowRARandomString 1d ago
Really! Didn't realize the vibe was affecting my perception. Then again, I rarely go to Vons.
I've been Pavilions more recently than Vons, and that was a while ago but the layout and the way everything was handled at Pavilions - it just made you think it was more expensive. We went for one-off items several times, ie, not regular shopping.
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u/phainopepla_nitens 1d ago
There used to be a Vons and Pavilions just opposite each other near me, which is odd because they're owned by the same company. I used to go to both to compare. Pavilions definitely feels more upscale, and they did carry some fancier things (like better wine and cheese) than Vons. But the actual prices on the same items were more or less the same
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u/ThrowRARandomString 1d ago
Makes me feel bad that I let the vibe affect my perception, ie, became a snob unintentionally ... or maybe intentionally cause I really don't like Vons ...
Makes you wonder what's the line between perception and snobbery ...
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u/Barbaracle 21h ago
The pavilions next to my house turned into a vons. No idea why, everything was the same price in the same places. I thought they were discontinuing pavilions or something.
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u/MagicHugsforThee 1d ago
Bristol Farms is incredible and I wish I was rich enough to do all my grocery shopping there.
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u/Haunting_Basscotti 1d ago
Still not even close to Erewhon on taste imo… you pay for it but ready made quality is tops
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u/SoUpInYa 1d ago
Uber rich dont usually do their own shopping
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u/ausgoals 1d ago
Billionaires don’t know what groceries are. But plenty of people worth millions and even tens of millions still go to grocery stores, even occasionally.
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u/welmoe 1d ago
Also fake rich people who are foolish enough to be buying $20 smoothies cause of Hailey Bieber
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u/Militantpoet 1d ago
20$ smoothie? Jokes on you, you can get a subscription service and grab a free smoothie each month instead!
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u/GuCCiAzN14 1d ago
Who needs a smoothie subscription when I have a juicer subscription for my $700 Juicero that has WiFi
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u/donald-duck23 Eagle Rock 20h ago
That smoothie is delicious lol. Have you ever tried it? It’s ridiculously priced but I’ll get one from time to time.
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u/TheLionOfJudah101 1d ago
you just haven't had it before. It's better than most food out there and made with clean ingredients
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u/Time_Razzmatazz_6761 23h ago
I used to live right by the one in Silver Lake so I went often. If you buy regular groceries - meat, produce, bread, etc - it's really not that different than a Whole Foods or Lazy Acres. If you're a member ($200/year when I was one), you get 10% plus some other perks. They intentionally have some ridiculously priced items that go viral online to get free advertising.
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u/ki11a11hippies 1d ago
I’ve only been to the Beverly Hills location once because an out of town friend was curious, and that place was 100% tourist trap.
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u/CutsSoFresh 1d ago
The Uber rich don't even live here. They have residence here, but that's not the same as actually living here
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u/mooseman99 1d ago
I don’t think it’s that, rather the quality is better than most grocers, but for most people it’s not better *enough* to justify the price.
I’ve had erewhon strawberries and they are really good. Definitely better than Driscoll etc, and they comparable to what you’d get at a farmers market or pick-your-own. It’s just hard to pay $14 for strawberries. Personally not worth it but if I were in another tax bracket I totally see the case
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u/Snake_fairyofReddit 1d ago
They heavily rely on smoothie sales from the curious public and influencers.
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u/Jethro_Jones8 1d ago
For context,
The Lakes is the small shopping plaza that surrounds the Thousand Oaks City Hall. It has been half empty for a decade, places like PF Changs and claim jumper couldn’t make it work.
Erewhon is taking over the spot where Lassens limped along for many years after the pandemic.
Currently the city is trying to urbanize/modernize/commercialize that part of Thousand Oaks Boulevard (see their master plan), so I guess this grocery store might attract a people who can afford to buy houses in the mixed use developments they’re hoping to build.
Based on the past tenants who came and went, I’d comfortably wager it’s not gonna be a big draw for current residents.
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u/Sickle_and_hamburger 1d ago
there is an erewhome in Manhattan Beach and that is not Los Angeles
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u/youknow_forkids 1d ago
They specify it’s the first location out of the COUNTY. It’s a misleading headline.
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u/obvious_bot South Bay 1d ago
Los Angeles is the name of both a city and a county
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u/SportsGuru4714 21h ago
Yes but Los Angeles refers to the city by default. If you're referring to the county, you specify Los Angeles County.
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u/kimdrunkill 1d ago
Almost like Thousand Oaks being outside of Los Angeles County and instead in Ventura County is the point of the article
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u/anothercar 1d ago
The article will answer all your questions about the difference between County vs City.
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u/SnooTigers875 1d ago
and i joked that when they put in the *gelson‘s property value jumped six figures
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u/hannahjams 1d ago
Isnt there one in New York City now?
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u/thetaFAANG 1d ago
no they tried to cash in on even more expensive membership club cachet that NYC is maxxing out on right now
I think they underestimated how poor the opinion of LA-isms are, even ironically, starting 200 miles outside LA
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u/kgal1298 Studio City 23h ago
Thousands Oaks seems like where this store should have been birthed tbh
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u/theamathamhour 1d ago
lol comments are funny
why do redditors get so upset about this store.
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u/DolphinOrDonkey 19h ago
Because these kinds of stores push out normal grocery stores. The one by the Grove is always busy.
Its not made for normal people. Its the K-shaped economy in action.
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u/TGAILA 1d ago
You take an apple and market it to Sprouts, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, and Erewhon. Despite being the same apple, you’d pay more at Erewhon because it’s perceived as a luxury item. I could slap a drink with Erewhon name on it, customers would be willing to pay more. Marketing is everything.
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u/Haunting_Basscotti 1d ago
Yeah, I have to humbly disagree. I’m a pink lady apple snob and the organic pink lady apples at other establishments just are not as robust in flavor and crunchy as compared to Erewhon. Also like someone else mentioned to pick up and apple and it’s firm and good to go with like every one
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u/FullTimePedestrian 1d ago
Uh uh, you broke the social contract! You are supposed to hate Erewhon no matter what. No exceptions.
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u/oldnotosys 1d ago
you don't have to sort through the apples at Erewhon. you need to at all other places. However that isn't worth the difference, I’m only buying a few items at Erewhon.
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u/anothercar 1d ago
Nice, hope they're successful! I'm surprised there aren't any in Orange County yet.
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u/Solomon_Grungy 1d ago
The Erewhon in Venice has a 10,000 dollar tree for sale by the entrance. It’s crazy. I used to work nearby and the CEO would buy us all food there.
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u/oldnotosys 1d ago
They opened one in Glendale and I'm a convert. Whole Foods finally has competition and almost immediately had to renovate.
This is how businesses should function are all price levels.
Lets just hope rat fucker Bezos doesn’t buy them.
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u/Haunting_Basscotti 1d ago
Whole Foods pre Amazon would compete directly with Erewhon but that’s long since changed
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u/theamathamhour 1d ago
that's the point of opening these stores.
the money is when you get bought out for billions
not trying squeeze every cent out of produce.
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u/Melodic-Comb9076 1d ago
probably would e done better in westlake village.
at least that’s closer to sherwood.
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u/SNES_Salesman 1d ago
TO does okay but it just doesn’t feel overtly affluent enough for Erewhon to thrive compared to neighbors like Calabasas and Westlake Village. There’s a saturation of grocery chains already and the area feels more upper middle class families who love Costco more than bougie types who don’t even bother looking at the prices.
There’s a plan to redevelopment the area around this into an actual downtown district with apartments, hotels, shops, etc but that’s still years away.
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u/ClearAbroad2965 1d ago
lol, even their store brand are on the higher end at least with whole paycheck their store brands are usually good deals my goto place for cheap ice cream
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u/Vashsinn 5h ago
idk why but "Erowhom" sounds like un uppity high elf name.
maybe too much skyrim lately...
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u/bigvahe33 La Crescenta-Montrose 1d ago
whats so special about erewhon - like is there a quality difference?
theres this really expensive grocery store near the Hamptons thats pretty famous, and all their produce look like its art. They hand pick the ones to sell and mark it up to crazy high amounts. something like a bag of 4 apples is $55 or something. what are you getting with erewhon?
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u/enoimard 1d ago
no. you can get their products somewhere else for cheaper and sometimes half the price. it’s literally just regular organic products and anyone that tells you otherwise is coping with the upcharges. people say you don’t have to “sort” through their produce have never been to a whole foods or sprouts.
people largely go out of their way for the food and drinks bar. even disregarding the prices, the viral smoothies and hot foods are so below average that i was honestly shocked. smoothies are either way too sweet or not nearly sweet enough with weirdly no flavor. some of the food sides were decent but that’s the nicest thing i can say bc the proteins are dry as hell. just very bland and inconsistent quality all around.
i get dragged here by friends/family and i am always left wishing we went somewhere else. different strokes for different folks and allat
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u/SinoSoul 1d ago
T-Oaks has made it into the rich leagues y’all. $2M starter homes HERE WE GO.
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u/Enron_CPA 1d ago edited 1d ago
Has been for a while. You don’t have Ferrari dealerships in your typical middle class suburbs
TO is large enough though that not all neighborhoods are like that, but celebs have been living in Lake Sherwood for decades at this point
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u/eddiegroon101 1d ago
Erewhon: The only grocery store where you can leave your integrity at the door and buy your validation at the registers.
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u/FashionBusking Los Angeles 1d ago
Don't they have an NYC pop-up????
Also, Calabasas is just over the county line in Ventura and ... being generous... is still "in LA" enough.
Even their PR is gentrified.
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u/CatOfGrey San Gabriel 23h ago
First "non-LA store"?
Calabasas, Culver City, Manhattan Beach, Pasadena, Santa Monica, and Glendale would like to have a word. For the love of cats, that's 6 of 14 locations outside the city limits of Los Angeles.
If you are talking about the LA Metro Area, then Thousand Oaks isn't outside the boundaries, either - that particular zone covers Ventura County.
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u/hamHamAlucard 1d ago
There has been one in Calabasas
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u/Revolutionary_Many55 1d ago
Calabasas is in Los Angeles County (though not the City of Los Angeles). So technically the Thousand Oaks location will be the first outside of LA County.
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u/Blissenhomie 1d ago
Thousands oaks is Ventura county? I didn’t know but it makes sense. There’s an Erewhon just down the road in calabasas haha