![]() Erewhon logo | |
![]() Santa Monica Erewhon store | |
Company type | Private |
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Industry | |
Founded | 1966[1] |
Founders | |
Headquarters | , United States |
Number of locations | 10[2] |
Areas served | Los Angeles County, California |
Key people |
|
Number of employees | approx. 216[3][4] |
Website | erewhonmarket |
Erewhon Market (/ɛrɛhwɒn/ AIR-ruh-whahn) is an American upscale supermarket chain with ten locations, all in Los Angeles County, California.[5][6]
Erewhon was founded in Boston in 1966 by Michio and Aveline Kushi.[1][7][8][9] The name "Erewhon" is derived from the 1872 satirical novel Erewhon by Samuel Butler. In the novel, Erewhon, an anagram of "nowhere", is a utopia in which individuals are responsible for their own health and prosecuted for the crime of being ill.[10] With 10 stores in Los Angeles,[2] the brand has been compared to the early years of Whole Foods Market.[11]
The Erewhon Organic brand was originally a health foods producer with just a single store. In 2011, Erewhon was sold to Tony and Josephine Antoci who acquired the last store on Beverly Boulevard that remained open.[12][13] They bought it from the widow of Tom DeSilva[14] who had owned Erewhon Market for over 30 years. Tom created and developed most of what Erewhon is known for. Tony Antoci serves as CEO.[15] Following several years of increasing financial performance, New York–based private equity firm Stripes Group purchased a substantial minority stake in Erewhon in 2019.[15]
In April 2021, Erewhon announced plans to open their first Beverly Hills location in the former Williams-Sonoma space, which is Erewhon's eighth store.[16] The Beverly Hills store opened in August 2022.[17] As of 2023, Erewhon ships nationwide to all 50 states, as well as Australia, Canada and the UK.[18]
Erewhon is alluded to as "Anavrin" in the Netflix original series You. Protagonist Joe Goldberg works at the store.[24]
Season 25 episode 4 of South Park references Erewhon as part of a running joke.[25]
Erewhon is referenced in the Wallice song "Off the Rails."[26]
Erewhon is referenced by guest star Corbin Bleu in the fourth episode of season three of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.[27]