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Just what the neighborhood needed: a Whole Foods is finally opening downtown.The overpriced, hippy-dippy chain run by a Libertarian is set to announce on Friday the opening date of a new store in downtown Los Angeles at 8th Street and Grand Avenue. According to a press release from Whole Foods, the 41,000 square foot store should provide the gentrifying neighborhood with cave-aged Gruyère cheese, kombucha sodas, freshly-ground almond butter and 150 jobs.
According to LA Weekly, Whole Foods had already been eyeing a downtown location for a decade, leading us to wonder how many strings the chain is pulling behind the scenes of every gentrifying neighborhood in America. "My office was happy to help bring Whole Foods Market to downtown and we will continue working with them through the various city processes so they can meet their goals and open as soon as possible," councilman Jose Huizar, who represents downtown, told the paper. "They are a fantastic addition to a dynamic, vibrant and growing neighborhood and I have no doubt that Whole Foods Market will very quickly become an integral part of downtown Los Angeles."
The store is also part of a "larger development" that also includes 700 residential units.
Update [Feb 6, 10:17:]: Curbed LA is reporting that the announced opening date for the Whole Foods is November 4.