Erewhon in Santa Monica closes cafe area after cockroaches found

Santa Monica’s Erewhon grocery store closed its tonic bar after finding cockroaches in the facility, the company said Thursday.

The upscale store was ordered closed after the L.A. County Department of Public Health found what it described in a public report as a “vermin infestation.”

“We deeply regret that a roach was found in our tonic bar,” said a spokesperson for Erewhon in a statement to The Times. “We sincerely apologize for this lapse in our standards.”

A store worker who spoke with The Times on Thursday said two cockroaches were found. The Department of Public Health noted in their report that they observed “two live nymph German cockroaches in the cabinet under the ‘Simonelli’ coffee machine.” The report also noted that a dead cockroach was found.

“Eliminate cockroaches and all evidence of cockroaches from the facility,” the department noted as the corrective action needed.

The grocery store received a “B” grade and a total score of 84 out of 100.

An Erewhon corporate spokesperson said the store “voluntarily” closed the tonic bar, where they make coffees, teas, juices and smoothies, and oversaw a thorough sanitation process. The company said it anticipated reopening the tonic bar later Thursday.

In recent years, the popularity of the luxury grocery chain has soared. It has has cultivated a following of shoppers who regularly visit to buy a prepared meal or pricey, celebrity-backed smoothies.

Three more locations are set to open in Southern California this year.

In its closure order for the Santa Monica location, the Public Health Department found the store had a “major” issue with “rodents, insects, birds or animals,” according to records posted online.