Chances are, if you’ve spent any time on TikTok, have a vague interest in health foods, have watched season two of “You,” or have a working knowledge of Los Angeles culture and Hailey Bieber, you’ve heard of Erewhon.
But if you haven’t: Erewhon is a Los Angeles-based health-food chain that’s a favorite of celebrities like Jake Gyllenhaal, Miley Cyrus, A$AP Rocky, and more.
According to Erewhon’s website, the store’s founders Michio and Aveline Kushi opened the first location in Los Angeles in 1968 after they moved from Boston. They were inspired by the macrobiotic diet, which, as Business Insider has described, “emphasizes whole grains, soy, and vegetables.”
The brand is now committed to selling organic produce that has never been sprayed with herbicides or pesticides and is non-GMO. According to the company, its seafood must be “sustainably sourced, farmed, or wild-caught”; the meat must come from a “healthy environment” with “open spaces”; and its food must be grown in a “complete bio-system” that “promotes biodiversity,” among other things.
Until 2014, there was just one Erewhon location near The Grove, an outdoor mall. That year, a second location opened in Calabasas. Since then, eight more Erewhon locations have opened for a total of 10.
During my first trip to Los Angeles this year, I wanted to visit an Erewhon — an anagram of “nowhere” — to see why it’s become so famous, even on the East Coast where there’s no store. So when I came across the Venice location, I was delighted.
Here’s what my visit was like.
