Erewhon — Attraction in Los Angeles

Disrespectful Experience — First & Last Visit (Silver Lake Location)

This was my first time at Erewhon (Silver Lake location), and honestly, it left a bad taste in my mouth. I came in as a delivery driver just trying to do my job with care and respect—for my customer, the store, and everyone around me. But the energy I received in return, especially from the cashier Vince C., made me feel unwelcome, disrespected, and frankly, invisible.

I was there at 8:04 p.m. on July 10, 2025, and I walked up to Vince because we had already made eye contact—it seemed like he was ready for me. I didn’t say anything, just handed over the items and began working to fix an issue with the Uber Eats order. My customer wanted two items removed, which meant I had to pause and work with support to adjust the cart. It was confusing, but I was handling it quickly and calmly.

While resolving it, I showed him a barcode that popped up on my app—something I hadn’t seen before—and asked if I needed to pay with that. Instead of helping, he muttered something under his breath (which I couldn’t fully hear because I had my headphones in) but his tone and facial expression made it clear he was annoyed. There was no line behind me. No rush. No reason for the impatience. I removed my headphones to listen to him properly because I knew he had muttered something under his breath. However, he ignored my efforts to hear what he said, which suggests that he may have said something disrespectful and hurtful.

Once I finally paid, Vince turned away, threw his arms up like he was about to explode, and didn’t hand me my receipt—which, as a delivery driver, I need to provide proof of the transaction. When I returned to ask for it, he still wouldn’t look at me. His co-worker, who was a person of color, kindly gave me the receipt instead. I told Vince “thank you, have a good day” anyway, and he ignored me.

Between that and the general energy in the store—like being cut off by other shoppers or feeling invisible in the sushi section—I left feeling small and deeply uncomfortable. As a Latina woman doing gig work, I deserved the same respect and space as anyone else. And I didn’t get that here.

Shoutout to the sushi chef (who was part of La Raza) for being kind and welcoming—he was the only person who made me feel like I belonged. But overall, Erewhon needs to seriously reconsider how their employees treat people, especially those of us from communities of color who are just doing our jobs.

If you’re going to be a high-end store with premium prices, you need to offer basic respect—because what I experienced was...

There are nice people working there with a lot of passion and knowledge, either in supplements or inventory and allergens. I am a member, and… of course you need to be one if you want to pay « normal » price let’s say. Or you are just getting stollen by the greedy owners who bought this place from a Mexican employee who saved it from bankruptcy over a decade ago. 35 dollars for a combo plate of farm raised salmon, 2 pieces of purple yams and a tea cup of salad? Am I eating gold? No, I am eating cold! So many issues, like the fact that they are not giving free food to their staff for their meals, or that their focus on development and white label products lead them to make poor quality in their oils, for example dangerous rice bran oil in their supplements, or NON GMO avocado oil, after being busted using the same rice bran oil (chemically extracted) in their tortillas, or fried dished at the hot bar. …..but let’s talk about a different issue, and it’s a big one, it is the constant moral harassement at the very edge of dictatorial behavior from the manager Joe at this location. I have an invisible disability and an ADA service dog. I have been mocked today about my disability by this man, harassed and humiliated in front of a whole store for the 2nd time. There are other reviews about him, for similar stories. The last time I had to deal with him, I tried to explain to him the law, but he didn’t acknowledge the obvious, and preferred somehow claiming he was untouchable because he is «friend with one of the owner of erewhon who was there earlier today». I will invite anybody to refrain shopping at Erewhon as much a possible, and I will personally not renew my membership. If you have experienced anything similar with Joe, first of all I’m really sorry, and please reach out to me. Having some sort of monopoly in your domain as a company is great, but you start failing when your employees start acting like mobsters and dictate their own rules. Which weirdly mirrors the owners behavior… Alternatives: cookbook, Lassens, Ralph’s (where some locations weirdly have 80% of erewhon’s products now at a normal price?!) LA grocery and Cafe, forage, goop kitchen (way more nutritious and elaborated). Erewhon shopping experience is really really poor, unless you are a tourist coming only for a picture of a $30 smoothie. Erewhon is not the only actor on the health market scene, and it’s actually not cool at all, let’s face it. No washed up celebrity or teenage influencer is going to save it from its worst...

I’ve been a regular at Erewhon for a while now and shop their for my clients multiple times a week, but what happened at the  Silver Lake location in early May was not only unacceptable—it was dangerous.

Around 9:30 PM on a Monday, just before closing, I purchased a Korean short rib burrito  from the hot bar. It was barely lukewarm, definitely not held at the required  135°F or above . Based on touch and taste, it wasn’t even  100°F . I ate it shortly after, and later that night, I became  violently ill  with clear symptoms of  food poisoning .

California food safety law is clear: if hot food falls below 135°F, it must be  discarded within 4 hours . But here’s the problem—I didn’t see  anyone  checking temperatures or tracking holding times. No time-stamped labels, no monitoring, no accountability.

A week later, I returned to the Silver Lake location and spoke with a staff member who confided that  10 Erewhon employees  had  called out sick  that week due to food poisoning. According to them, an internal  Erewhon email  was sent out confirming the outbreak. Those employees all ate from the  same hot bar , using their staff discount.

I emailed Erewhon directly. I received a  generic, dismissive response  that ignored every concern I raised about hot food safety and compliance with health regulations. No apology. No follow-up. Just silence.

This is not about the taste or presentation of a burrito. This is about  public health , and a company that markets itself as wellness-focused while  ignoring serious safety failures  behind the scenes.

How is Erewhon monitoring hot bar food temps? – Are  calibrated thermometers  being used? – Are temps  logged hourly  as required? – Is food  being discarded  after 4 hours if it falls out of temp?

I’m a  professional chef  who understands food safety inside and out. Erewhon charges luxury prices—but this experience showed me they’re  cutting corners where it matters most .

If 10 of your own employees get sick from your hot bar, and customers are getting food that’s under temp at closing time,  you have a...