Whole Foods has closed down its San Francisco store as it "can't ensure staff safety" days after tech mogul Bob Lee was stabbed to death.
The popular supermarket chain had opened a flagship store in March 2022 but just months later the shop reduce its opening hours in San Francisco, California, US, amid growing drug problems and "high theft".
The shop experienced hostile shoppers and store managers were forced to restrict the use of its toilets to customers only after used syringes and pipes were found on the floor in November.
Local customer Allyn Mejia said she was not surprised the company has cited staff concerns after seeing security staff rush into the store to tackle unruly customers.
She told Newsweek: "I've seen security run into the store real quick before, like, something happened."
San Francisco’s District 6 supervisor Matt Dorsey said he was “incredibly disappointed but sadly unsurprised” by the Whole Foods closure.
“Our neighbourhood waited a long time for this supermarket, but we’re also well aware of problems they’ve experienced with drug-related retail theft, adjacent drug markets, and the many safety issues related to them," he said.
A spokesperson for Whole Foods Market told San Francisco Standard that the closure may be temporary.
It said: "We are closing our Trinity location only for the time being. If we feel we can ensure the safety of our team members in the store, we will evaluate a reopening of our Trinity location."
The shop's decision to close comes after Cash App founder Bob Lee died after being stabbed twice in the chest on April 4 in San Francisco.
His death led to an outcry from tech leaders including Elon Musk and exposed fears of a rising drugs and crime crisis in San Francisco, a known tech hub.
According to the victim's friend, the tech chief himself had moved out of the Californian city because he feared it was "deteriorating".
And Mr Musk said he was "very sorry" to hear of Mr Lee's death before criticisng what he saw as out of control crime.
He tweeted: "Many people I know have been severely assaulted. Violent crime in SF is horrific and even if attackers are caught, they are often released immediately."
The billionaire called out San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jennings, asking: "Is the city taking stronger action to incarcerate repeat violent offenders?"
Matt Ocko, a tech entrepreneur and venture capitalist in Palo Alto, California, tweeted the leaders of “lawless” San Francisco had Mr Lee’s “literal blood on their hands” following the city's latest mugging.
The 43-year-old was on a visit to San Francisco having returned from Miami for a "quick visit" after planning to stay an extra day, according to friends.
CCTV footage showed Mr Lee walking along an empty San Francisco street in the early hours of the morning, lifting his shirt to show a driver his wounds before they drove away.
In distressing footage seen by a local newspaper, he was seen pleading to a driver: "Help. Someone stabbed me."
Mr Lee can reportedly be seen on CCTV walking toward the Bay Bridge before falling to the ground outside an apartment building at around 2.30am.
Police came across the unconscious tech chief before was rushing him to hospital where he tragically died from his injuries.
