Chicago City Wire

Whole Foods, an entity of Amazon.com Inc., has raised eyebrows with its decision to close a store in a poor, predominantly Black Chicago neighborhood while they were opening another in a wealthier area of the city.  

The decision has prompted the ire of state officials who believe the company is reneging on its promise to serve all Chicagoans.

“This story saddens me. Jeff Bezos is worth $180 BiILLION dollars, takes joy rides into outer space, but takes away healthy food options to poor people because he cares more about profits than poor people. This is yet another reason why we should tax billionaires like Bezos more!,” Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch wrote on Twitter. 

The store in question was located in the city’s Englewood neighborhood, which the Census reports has an annual income per household of $23,019 and is 98% African American.   

Politico reports that former mayor Rahm Emanuel incentivized Whole Foods to open its Englewood location in 2016 with an $11 million tax break and that the company was bought by Amazon in 2017 for $13.7 billion.  

The new store is roughly 6,000 square feet and located at 3 W. Chicago Ave., “in the new One Chicago high-rise located on the border between Chicago’s River North and Gold Coast neighborhoods,” according to a Whole Foods press announcement.

The average yearly income for households on the North Side is $128,101 with 77% of its residents being white.  

Among some of the amenities in the new store are a “produce and floral department with an array of organic, conventional and sourced for good local choices” including “tomatoes from MightyVine, basil from Gotham Greens’ Chicago farm and sprouts from Chicago Indoor Garden,” according to the company’s press release.

In addition, the store will feature a “full-service meat counter, with butchers available to cut steaks to order or debone poultry” and will feature “dry-aged beef, made-in-house sausage and prime beef,” as well as a “specialty department dedicated to celebrating cheesemakers, artisan producers and specialty foods.”

According to the release, the store will also have over 300 craft beers and 600 wines, two in-house sommeliers, a coffee shop, a bakery and an array of health and beauty products.